Anne Handley: Candidate for Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor

PASSION AND COMMITMENT: Anne Handley, leader of East Riding Council and the Conservative candidate for Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor

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Q: What will the role of Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor involve?

A: The Mayor will be responsible for bringing in more jobs to the region. They will have the skills budget to ensure the right qualifications are delivered for local people to have opportunity to secure well-paid jobs. The Mayor will also be responsible for improving transport. The Mayor will have the ability to deliver outcomes people here want and need.

Q: Why is it so important, and why should people vote?

A: Currently, we have civil servants in Westminster signing off our money on what they see as our priorities. With a Mayor, that money and those decisions are made here, with a Mayor fighting for this region who knows where the money should go locally. Rather than being in Westminster, the Mayor will be based here, speaking, listening and delivering and people have the chance to vote for the right person to be Mayor.

Q: Tell us about your career to date, and what you do now.

A: I have always believed that if you want to have something, you have to work for it, nobody else is going to do it for you.

I know what being on the breadline is like. When I was old enough, I worked in an egg packing factory to help my mum pay the bills. I know what it’s like to work hard for little pay and I want to deliver better jobs for local people as our Mayor.

Later, I set up a dress shop in Goole. It’s not easy running your own business and it’s why I want to help all businesses, across our urban, rural and coastal communities be successful.

After 2000, I closed my shop due to the financial climate and I re-trained as a teacher and got jobs at Hull College and then Goole College. I know what our young people need to make a success of their lives and as Mayor I will empower them through more apprenticeships and meaningful job creating education courses.

From experience, I also know that anyone at any age can change their profession or re-skill. As Mayor, I’ll ensure anyone who wants to work hard, at any age, will get the opportunity to train and get a good job to put more money in their pocket.

In 2019, I was elected an East Riding councillor in Goole. In 2023, I was re- elected and became the first woman to lead one of the country’s largest local authorities. But I am not a career politician. I am just someone who wants to do the right thing and fight for what I believe in. I believe our region has missed out and been left behind and it is unacceptable. It is why I have challenged Governments to help secure this devolution deal.

We are on the first rung of a very big ladder with a first deal, but I will not stop until we are where we need to be.

Q: Why do you think you should be the first ever Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor?

A: I have worked with not one but two Governments to get to this point and I am not afraid to bang on any Government doors to get the best I can for Hull and East Yorkshire. I am invested and believe in this new Mayoral role and have the passion and commitment to get the job done.

I sit on various powerful boards and have excellent working relationships with all the Northern Mayors, regardless of differing political beliefs. A Mayor should never be about the politics, it should be about the people.

Q: What are the major issues you would look to tackle, should you be voted in?

A: We have to improve our roads network, and I will make sure our minor roads as well as our main roads are well maintained.

Our broadband needs to be improved. Whether you are working from home, watching Netflix or just making a call, we need decent broadband and I will make sure we get it.

We need to ensure local people are given the opportunity to get better paid jobs without having to move to Manchester or London.

Q: What is your message to the people of Hull and East Yorkshire before they cast their vote on May 1?

A: This region has so much potential, and with the right person at the helm as the Mayor, we will get better services, better infrastructure and more jobs for local people. I am the person to achieve all of this.

I will listen, I will act and I will deliver.