Alan Graves

My Roots

With my mother from Derbyshire and my father from Nottinghamshire I have family ties across the region. I am married with 3 boys and 4 grandchildren.
My father started working life at 14 ‘down the pit’ in Mansfield with his father and brothers. At 16 he joined the Army and went through all the ranks from Private to Major. I was an army child.
I am now 61 and have been a Councillor since 1995 and acquired a lot of experience in the local authority arena. I have been a thorn in the side of many including the Labour Party, Conservative Party and the Local Authority.
I believe in the working classes and those that create the wealth of the country. I am proud that I helped grow a business in Derby from 1983.

Why Politics?

When the Local Authority affected my family life I decided to find out who these faceless people were and tackle them head on. I joined what I initially believed was the working class party and became a Labour Councillor. Subsequently after realising that the working classes were not at the forefront of any Labour politicians mind I joined UKIP and eventually Reform UK. I believe they are the party of common sense and field a variety of views amongst the membership.
Politically, from the Labour Party, I grew an experienced team and now have 6 councillors on Derby City Council, breaking the traditional idea that smaller parties cannot win. The council is a hung council and has been ever since I started winning elections. That has given the council a dynamic that is hard to find elsewhere. I became the Brexit man in Derby and now believe the country should come together as one to make Britain great again.

East Midlands Mayor

I am standing for the East Midlands Mayoral role out of frustration of the other parties and mostly the civil service, all of whom conspired to ignore the voting masses. Whilst there are 2.2million people in the new authority area (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire) only 4800 responded to the consultation on whether we should have a regional Mayor, showing that the consultation was destined not to reach the majority of people. Despite the attempt to rig the consultation with many from the vested interest side of the argument, the majority of those 4800 rejected the idea of a new Mayor. Each local council was responsible for its’ own area of consultation, and every area resulted in the same choice. No, we don’t want one.
Therefore, I want to win this election with the aim of removing the position, legally.