Conservative candidate Rob Waltham explains why he wants to be Greater Lincolnshire Mayor

Coun Rob Waltham says having a directly-elected mayor and the local accountability that comes with it will be ‘revolutionary’ for Lincolnshire, compared to civil servants in London making decisions, writes Ivan Morris Poxton.

Residents from Stamford to South Ferriby will choose the county’s first-ever mayor on May 1.

The winner will lead the newly-established Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority and control an annual investment budget of £24m a year, also holding powers over economic development, skills, transport, and planning.

Coun Waltham is North Lincolnshire Council’s leader and had just been in a special meeting where all councillors backed nationalisation, if necessary, to save the town’s steelworks.

On the campaign trail, and also as a New Year’s resolution, he has been doing a Park Run every week.

This week’s will be his 14th and he is doing a different one each time.

Rob has been a councillor since 2007, in a leadership role at the local authority from 2011 and the council leader for the last eight years.

Pre-politics, he was in a Government job focused on regional development in Lincolnshire.

Born in Scunthorpe, and having lived most of his life in Brigg, he shared evident pride in his family’s long Lincolnshire ancestry.

“Literally, all of my family for ten generations have lived in Lincolnshire,” said Coun Waltham, who hails from a council estate and was raised by his father after his mother died from cancer.

“His only ambition really in life was to live until we were 21, because that way, we’d be able to look after ourselves.”

It was a close family unit ‘on the edge of care’, he added.

“Life wasn’t easy, and I was the first person in my family to go to university.,” added Coun Waltham, who attended Hull, with his dad paying for his education by withdrawing his British Steel pension.

The Conservative councillor has never found national politics appealing adding: “I was always happy to support other people to go to Parliament. I still think you can do more locally than you can nationally.”

As the council leader, he is one of the architects of the devolution deal the county got. It is because of that history he wants to become the Mayor.

“For the last decade really, I’ve been involved in negotiating the deal. I think having been involved with that with other council leaders, you get quite attached to what you can genuinely deliver with the devolution deal.”

He goes onto say most of the decisions affecting the county are made by civil servants in London.

He argues having the level of local accountability in Lincolnshire through the mayor is ‘revolutionary’.

“There’s a reason why we’ve got young people not engaging in skills, there’s a reason why our roads never tackle the big infrastructure improvements they need, it’s because all those decisions are sat there being made relative to other areas,” he said.

Coun Waltham is known for a personable style – a three-minute walk from the council building with him to Sarah’s Diner in Scunthorpe took twice as long because of people greeting him – but he emphasises having empathy.

“I’m an empathetic leader. I believe you should listen to people’s voices and try to champion it, because you can’t always fix everything.

“However much you try to support someone to have a better life, it doesn’t always play out. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.”

Asked for his priorities, Coun Waltham mentions connectivity first, particularly north-south connectivity and also buses.

He adds also of broadband and mobile connectivity, suggesting it is currently holding back the county.

He also would prioritise protecting farming and steel, and talks of using devolving environmental powers to get more resources for flood defences.

Rob also highlights creating opportunities for young people and skills - ‘because we get a load of money for skills and we genuinely need to bloody use it to give people a better chance in life’ - adding not everyone is suited to school.

He talks of attracting businesses for this, and highlights council efforts to apply for North Lincolnshire to be an AI growth zone.

A data centre is already planned near South Killingholme.

He says another AI-related planning application is due imminently in North Lincolnshire, and ‘there are a number of interested parties throughout the county’.

Finally, he singles out building homes for older people, stating ‘the market is broken’.

“Where the market fails, which is the essence of the steel debate today, you’ve got to be able to stimulate interest,” he said,

“That’s what I want to use devolution to do.”

There are currently six candidates in the race to be elected Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire on May 1, thay are Sally Anne Horscroft (Green Party), Dame Andrea Jenkyns (Reform UK), Marianne Overton – (Lincolnshire Independents), Jason Stockwood (Labour), Rob Waltham (Conservative) and Trevor Young (Liberal Democrats).