Conservative will choose their Greater Lincolnshire mayoral candidate this weekend
Conservative party members will gather to choose their candidate for the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral race on Saturday (December 7).
The nomination has been highly sought after, with five candidates still in the race.
They will give their final pitches at a meeting at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln on Saturday afternoon.
Party members will be able to ask questions before casting their vote, with the winner expected to be announced that day.
The candidates still in the race (in alphabetical order) are:
Ben Bradley, former Mansfield MP who stepped down this week as leader of Nottinghamshire County Council
Hugo Marfleet, representative for Louth Wolds on Lincolnshire County Council
Karl McCarney, former MP for Lincoln
Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council
Matt Warman, former MP for Boston & Skegness
Marc Jones, the Lincolnshire Police & Crime Commissioner, dropped out of the race this week, saying he wouldn’t be able to balance a five-month campaign with his work commitments.
Whoever is chosen as the candidate could be in a strong position given the Tories hold all but one of Lincolnshire’s MP seats.
Former Conservative MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns has been confirmed as the candidate for Reform UK, while Labour will be represented by Jason Stockwood, vice-chairman of Grimsby Town Football Club.
The Liberal Democrats have also indicated they will announce a candidate in the new year.
The mayoral election will be held on Thursday, May 1, alongside local elections.
The newly-created role will devolve a broad range of powers from central government to Lincolnshire, including transport, housing skills and investment.
They will have a budget of £24m, which is guaranteed for the next 30 years.
The election will be the final stage in Lincolnshire’s long-running devolution saga.
Plans for a £450m deal were originally drawn up in 2016, but were scrapped after Lincolnshire County Councillors objected to the idea of having a directly-elected mayor.
A new deal was signed in 2023 when several more authorities had already gone through the process.
