It’s been a month since the 2025 elections.
And there are four new mayors to get to know.
Two Reform, one Conservative and one Labour. Two ex-MPs, one ex-councillor, and a political novice, all with their own unique outlook and agenda.
They perhaps couldn’t be more different, but all are now united by the tough reality of holding political office.
It’s certainly going to be a challenge.
James Wood, Noah Khogali and Keane Duncan have analysed how the new mayors are getting on so far and what we might expect them to do next.
Hull & East Yorkshire
Ex-Olympic boxer Luke Campbell delivered a knock-out blow in Hull & East Yorkshire.
“I’m not a politician” was the catchphrase of the 37-year-old’s campaign.
But now, the reality of becoming a politician – the most prominent and powerful in the region – appears to be hitting home.
“As you can see, we’re building this from the ground up,” Campbell told social media followers as he walked around the empty Combined Authority offices.
“No team, no structure, not even the systems needed to bring people on board.”
There’s a lot of work to do to build the infrastructure and capacity to deliver the “real change” he promised at the election.
And as he grapples with this challenge, there’s been only limited activity from the new mayor in the three weeks since he stormed to victory.
He’s signed his declaration of office, attended the VE Day 80th Anniversary Ceremony at Westminster Abbey and visited students at Bishop Burton College.
But there is little new yet in terms of policy and projects. Just how this non-politician will fare in this biggest of political jobs remains to be seen.
Greater Lincolnshire
Dame Andrea Jenkyns is ready “to get on with the job”. After her landslide victory in a bitter electoral contest, she says it is now time for “grown up politics”.
The high-profile Reform UK mayor has made a series of radical and headline-grabbing pledges: an end to ‘Net Zero madness’, the creation of a Musk-style ‘Lincolnshire DOGE’; and moving illegal immigrants into tents.
The success of the ex-Tory MP’s bold agenda will depend on cross-party working given the Conservatives hold a majority on the Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority.
It’s a reality Dame Andrea has recognised. “We need to be working together and doing what’s right for Lincolnshire,” she told the press.
However, she appeared as strident as ever in recent social media videos, accusing rivals of “grandstanding”, “vested interests” and being “undemocratic, sore losers”.
She’s also used recent media appearances to pledge support for fracking, fight solar energy projects and “build a wall around Lincolnshire”, pledges that are only likely to inflame relations.
Time will tell if Dame Andrea will be able to unite Lincolnshire behind her agenda.
But expect controversy, clashes and legal challenges as this new mayoralty finds its feet.
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
Paul Bristow’s victory marks a return to Conservative leadership at the combined authority after four years of Labour.
It’s a return for Bristow too, who lost the Peterborough parliamentary seat at the general election.
He must now grapple with a complex regional authority of 920,000 people, with a divided cabinet made up of Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat council leaders.
Bristow has pledged to “jump straight in”, prioritising infrastructure and transport, including a series of road upgrades.
His programme is not without controversy. He wants to scrap ‘anti-car’ schemes, dismantle the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership and cancel key busway schemes.
An opponent of the East Park Energy Solar Farm, Bristow favours rooftop and brownfield solar. He also supports community-led housing and protecting rural areas from overdevelopment.
With proposals under the English Devolution White Paper, there’ll likely be chance for him to gain greater control over regional development too – a hot topic in the region.
Bristow’s rhetoric on planning and roads resonated with Reform UK-leaning voters amid national political turbulence.
However, he’ll face challenges: the Conservatives are in the minority on the Combined Authority board, and the Liberal Democrats now control Cambridgeshire County Council.
Expect tensions to arise over housing, transport and climate policy.
Whether Bristow can translate bold pledges into lasting change depends on his ability to build consensus across a divided political landscape.
West of England
Helen Godwin’s victory was a much-needed success on a poor night for Labour.
But she steps into a role at a turbulent time. Her predecessor Dan Norris was arrested, then suspended by the Labour Party, while governance issues at the combined authority still cast a long shadow.
Elected on around 25% of the vote in a low-turnout (30%) election that saw a second-place finish for Reform UK, Godwin also faces the challenge of a narrow mandate in an area where political support is highly fractured.
The “West Country girl through and through” has a blend of local government and private sector experience that could prove key to achieving her ambition to be a “mayor who gets things done”.
The ex-Bristol Council cabinet member has also immediately moved to champion cross-party collaboration by appointing a Liberal Democrat Deputy Mayor, Kevin Guy, and stressing a “place before party” approach.
This could be key to smoothly delivering her ambitious agenda: an overhaul of public transport; new railway stations; homes with infrastructure; and a ‘Regional Green Skills Academy’.
There are certainly challenges ahead, but Godwin’s early, pragmatic steps could prove invaluable to restoring public confidence in the role of mayor and the combined authority she now leads.
