The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has announced he is stepping down from the role after a ‘challenging’ year.
Ben Bradley, who became council leader in 2021, was also Mansfield’s Conservative MP until he was defeated in the General Election in July.
This year also saw Mr Bradley fail in his bid to become mayor of the East Midlands Combined Authority.
He has reportedly now said he will put himself forward as the Conservative candidate for the mayor of the new Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority, with the election due to be held in May.
Mr Bradley said in a statement: ‘As I'm sure you can appreciate, this year has been a challenging one for me both professionally and personally, following two election defeats in the mayoral and general elections in the spring.
‘Aside from the frustrations about the results, on a practical level it means that I have had to spend some time evaluating my next steps and planning for the future.’
He added: ‘Meanwhile, it has become increasingly clear that being the leader of the council simply is not compatible with many of the new opportunities I now need to consider.’
Nottinghamshire’s Conservative group will choose a new group leader before the full council appoints the leader at its next meeting on 5 December.
Mr Bradley will remain in post until that time. He will reportedly not seek re-election to the council in May.
