Former Mansfield woman wants to be Labour's candidate for East Midlands Mayor

Adele Williams, aged 52, is originally from the town but now lives in Sherwood, which she has represented on Nottingham Council since 2017, having joined the Labour Party in 2009.

She was initially part of a parents campaign against school cuts and, as a local Nottinghamshire woman, says she has the voice and platform to represent local people in the new devolved Combined Counties Authority of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

She also has the political experience as a former deputy leader of the city council, where she has also held key portfolio positions, including finance, social care and transport.

She said: “I’ve got a record of getting people together and influencing people to get what we need for our area.

“I have never sought election for Westminster, but I am proud to represent my local area, meeting my constituents in the community I live in, at the school gate, or on the bus to meetings.

"I don’t think this Government has ever really understood the East Midlands and we haven’t had a unified voice to fight for what we need and deserve.

"I will be a mayor who listens and will be out there in all of the regions in our area.

"For too long, parts of our region have been called ‘former’ something or ‘ex’ something and we need to be looking to the future and bringing the funding in and creating the quality jobs people will need to be able to rely on to feed their families and thrive in our area.

Adele also believes devolution is essential for areas like the East Midlands.

She said: “As an area, we’ve had massive under-investment and lacked a unified voice.

"I know from experience the issues that affect people in our region and I really believe you need to listen to people at ground level who understand the issues facing their communities.

"Devolved powers brings the opportunity to bring investment into the area.

"For too long, we’ve been forced into bidding for chunks of funding.

"Power needs to be devolved because we understand our area best and funding needs to be devolved to get our area what it needs.”