PHOTO: Claire Ward
Claire Ward has been elected as the first ever East Midlands Mayor.
D2N2 LEP Chair, Elizabeth Fagan, said:
“I warmly congratulate Claire on her successful election as our new East Midlands Mayor. I’m truly confident that Claire, our new mayor, will champion the voice of our hard-working, successful businesses, from micro, to SMEs, to global corporates, and ensure a strong economic and inward investment strategy for low carbon economic growth, skills, transport and housing. Our time is now.”
D2N2 LEP Chief Executive, Will Morlidge, said:
“Well done to Claire. I’m excited to work with our new Mayor, in particular, on driving inclusive growth and upskilling our region, making sure no-one is left behind. I, together with all my team at D2N2 LEP, are looking forward to working closely with our new Mayor to benefit everyone in our region.”
East Midlands Devolution
Following the East Midlands devolution deal, agreed with Government ministers in 2022, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Nottingham will benefit from more control and more funding and we now have a new combined authority covering our region – the East Midlands Combined County Authority that came into being at the end of February 2024.
The deal will improve the region’s economy and improve livelihoods for the region’s 2.2m residents. It will give the East Midlands the national voice it deserves, to champion major infrastructure and turn round historic under-investment in the East Midlands to benefit the regional economy, through our newly elected Mayor.
Find about more about East Midlands devolution
D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) covers the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire region, convening the businesses, universities, colleges and local authorities in our region to drive low carbon, economic growth and productivity, skills & careers, inclusion and delivery excellence. The D2N2 LEP team and functions will transition into the East Midlands Combined County Authority during 2024.
For media enquiries, contact:
Nicola Swaney
Head of External Affairs, D2N2 LEP
Nicola.Swaney@d2n2lep.org
