Apart from my promise to work to abolish the role I will have to fulfil the office of regional mayor.
The regional mayors work is mostly laid out in the legislation. It is work that has currently been carried out by the minister for the East Midlands and the government teams tasked with that responsibility. All of this has now been transferred to the East Midlands Combined County Authority at huge expense with new staff, and a new, expensive political layer. The projects and funding are not new money, they already existed and in subsequent years the onus will be on the Mayor to raise finance from council tax and business rates to top up the woeful funds rather than rely on the government. This has happened with the Police and crime commissioners as funding from council tax has doubled since their introduction. According to government figures the region is underfunded by over £1BN a year and yet this does nothing to redress that situation. In fact I believe that long term it will lead to further underinvestment as the blame will be placed on the Mayor.
Me vs The Others
Whoever gets elected, the bulk of the work will be the same and there is little room for maneuver. For instance, the Mayor has been tasked with implementing Boris’s Bus Back Better Plan. Controlling the Pot Hole Fund, Identifying Key Network Routes and taking on tasks involving adult education and net zero. Priorities for me however will include keeping cash payments available on public transport. Keeping all routes open and freely accessible and fighting all plans for ULEZ, Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and 15 minute cities… all schemes that seek to restrict our ability to work and care for our families while heavily impacting the poorest in society.
Other, more ambitious rules, allow the Mayor to create development zones and corporations which are to encourage business and development. While these maybe a useful tool in regeneration I will ensure that it’s not at the cost of small local businesses, regional sensitivities or to the detriment of our local environment or resources. Things like the East Midlands Freeport is already a travesty with such benefits as reduced taxation and reduced planning constraints. None of this should apply.
Every pledge and every candidate leaflet is a promise to do the job as Mayor… Nothing else. When someone claims they will fix your potholes… that’s already in the contract. When they say they’ll change the bus service, It’s written in law. I’m the only candidate honest enough to say that the public didn’t want a mayor, It’s a waste of money and it breaks our current political structures.
What’s the future?
The role of Mayor will become the scapegoat, the person to blame for underfunding, underperforming and regional problems. They will be expected to raise considerable local tax from a variety of sources, whether through council tax, business rates or vehicle taxation and charging, the Mayor can do them all. This will as always hit the poor in our society the hardest and this money will be used to offset the huge underfunding that’s been provided by the Government.