2 days Ago By [email protected] (Oliver Pridmore)
Nottinghamshire had more than its fair share of political developments in 2024. Alongside the general election across the entire country which saw the county's political map change beyond recognition, we have also elected our first ever East Midlands Mayor and chosen a new Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Away from elections, Ben Bradley and David Mellen both resigned as leaders of Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council respectively.
Sam Smith took over at the county as one of the youngest council leaders in the country, while Neghat Khan was chosen to lead the city in a highly controversial selection process. Three commissioners were appointed to oversee Nottingham City Council in February and Newark's Robert Jenrick had a stab at running a significantly smaller Conservative Party, losing out to Kemi Badenoch. With all those developments and many more, you would be forgiven for thinking that 2025 is bound to be a quieter year in Nottinghamshire politics.
Will you be voting in the local elections in May? Let us know here Don't hold your breath. Below are some of the key dates to watch out for in Nottinghamshire politics throughout 2025. Throughout the year The three commissioners at Nottingham City Council were appointed by the government in February for at least two years.
The three officials, led by Tony McArdle, are therefore set to remain in place throughout 2025. The lead commissioner is being paid £1,200 for every day of work, whilst the other two get £1,100. The commissioners, sent in after the city council's effective declaration of bankruptcy in November 2023, were told to produce their first report on the authority's progress within six months and every six months after that.
The coming year will therefore see multiple reports from commissioners. Each report will make for crucial reading as Nottingham digests whether the new political leadership at the city council is meeting its pledge to "fix the foundations" and get the authority's "house in order." February Ashfield District Council's leader, and leader of the Nottinghamshire County Independent Group on Nottinghamshire County Council , will be facing a criminal trial in 2025.
Councillor Jason Zadrozny has pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of fraud by false representation and four counts of income tax evasion. The charges were first made public in 2023 and since then, Councillor Zadrozny has continued to lead Ashfield District Council on behalf of his Ashfield Independents group. It was revealed in November 2023 that Councillor Zadrozny's trial would not be taking place in Nottinghamshire, with the case instead moved to Northampton Crown Court.
The trial is currently estimated to last for six weeks and was provisionally set to be held at some point in February 2025. Northampton Crown Court recently confirmed that the trial is currently listed to begin on February 24, 2025. End of March After Nottingham City Council effectively declared bankruptcy in November 2023, a spend control board was established to review every single new item of spending.
The rules mean that every single act of new spending by the council, without exception, has to be approved by its finance chief. The only spending allowed includes items which are essential for the council to meet its legal duties, such as fulfilling existing contracts, paying staff and safeguarding vulnerable people. The level of requests dealt with by the spend control board has caused numerous issues, with council staff nearly losing their NCT bus passes at one stage and some experiencing delays in receiving payments for hosting those fleeing Ukraine.
When the spend control board was established, the council said the arrangement would be in place until at least March 31, 2025, subject to regular reviews. If this board were to cease operating at the end of March, it would be a sure sign that the city council is on a strong road to recovery. May We may have had a glut of elections in Nottinghamshire in 2024, but the coming year promises at least one more.
The Conservatives will be hoping to protect their last major Nottinghamshire bastion by retaining control of the county council they have led alone since 2021. Yet Labour and the independent group will both be fighting hard, with the former being the most confident that they could win with an outright majority. The independents believe the race will be tighter and that all parties may struggle to get enough councillors needed for a majority, with 34 of the 66 seats needed to rule the council alone.
The independents instead believe they will be the largest group and will be crucial in forming some sort of coalition. Reform UK and the Green Party are among those not currently represented on the county council and both say they will be fielding a full slate of candidates. The county council is the only Nottinghamshire authority affected by the 2025 local elections and these are set to be the last ones in our part of the world until 2027.
That's right folks, 2026 should be a year without a Nottinghamshire election. May will therefore be hugely important in shaping the political scene for the foreseeable..
