Reform UK’s Andrea Jenkyns elected

Reform UK’s Dame Andrea Jenkyns has secured a resounding victory to become Greater Lincolnshire’s first elected mayor.

Dame Andrea won in every area of the county except one with a total of 104,133 votes. Rob Waltham, for the Conservative Party, came second with 64,585 votes.

Speaking at the count at Grimsby Town Hall, she said it marked a “new dawn in British politics”.

Dame Andrea will now represent about 1.1 million people who live in the combined county for the next four years.

The former Tory MP, who won with 42% of the vote, said: “We’re going to have a Britain where we put you and your families first.

“Now that Reform is in a place of power we can help reshape Britain.

“I want to ensure that Lincolnshire is the best place to bring up your children, to retire and live. My ultimate goal is that Lincolnshire thrives.”

Questions had previously been raised about whether Dame Andrea was entitled to be on the electoral roll in the county, one of the criteria for being a candidate.

During her acceptance speech, she hit back at some of her rivals, including the Conservatives, accusing them of carrying out a smear campaign against her.

“I’ve never experienced such negativity and soul-destroying campaigns against me like this one,” she said.

Dame Andrea said that campaign was also “filled with irony”, because a candidate with a South African accent had accused her of being “parachuted in”.

“They undemocratically tried to remove me from the ballot – but I will say no more on this and I will wish them all well because this is insignificant now,” she added.

Jason Stockwood, Labour, came third with 30,384 votes, ahead of Marianne Overton, Independent, with 19,911, Sally Horscroft, Green Party, with 15,040 and Trevor Young, Liberal Democrats, with 13,728.

The declaration at 06:49 BST came after a recount of votes in the North Lincolnshire Council area, which was won by Waltham.

A total of 29.9% of the electorate – 828,613 – turned out to vote in the election.

Before the election, North Kesteven District Council’s electoral registration officer found that Dame Andrea was using her Lincolnshire home as her primary residence.

She splits her time between an address in Bassingham, near Lincoln, and a home in Yorkshire, where her son is at school.

The new mayor will oversee decisions on housing, public transport, infrastructure, economic development, business, skills and regeneration.

The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority will have an annual budget of £24m and serve as a direct link to Westminster.

A devolution deal approved by the government last September brought together Lincolnshire County Council, North East Lincolnshire Council and North Lincolnshire Council.

Andrea Jenkyns has come a long way from music teacher in Lincolnshire to the holder of the most powerful positions yet for Reform UK.

Voters’ yearnings for a new voice in politics have been made flesh in the polling stations, handing her a resounding victory.

But, as Jenkyns’ political star rose in the polls in recent weeks, so did the acrimony and bitterness of the campaigns.

Her critics voiced concerns over their eligibility to even have her name on the ballot papers, claiming she does not truly live in the patch.

One took it to a formal challenge. It failed, but the row clearly took its toll upon her personally and could impact upon her tenure.

That is because she, as mayor, will now effectively share power with a combined authority board whose main six members will have equal voting rights as hers. All of them are Conservative council leaders, including her rival mayoral candidate Rob Waltham.

Her job now is to break bread with them over the menu of new devolved powers to boost the economy, create jobs and improve transport services.