Mayor to step down after first term
The mayor of South Yorkshire, Dan Jarvis, has confirmed he will not be seeking re-election when his term comes to an end next year.
The mayor, who has spent the last three years carrying out the role alongside his jobs as MP for Barnsley Central, announced in a video today that although “it’s a great honour to serve as the first South Yorkshire mayor” it had never been a “long-term arrangement”.
With his time in the post due to come to an end with elections in May next year, Jarvis said it was time to think about who is best placed to build upon the achievements that have been made over the last three years, which in his words include securing the “powers and the money” of devolution, while also dealing with the challenges of “Britain’s exit from the EU, terrible flooding and the biggest health crisis in living memory” and “a Government that simply weren’t on our side.”
The former paratrooper noted South Yorkshire now has a “properly functioning Mayoral Combined Authority up and running”, had unlocked “hundreds of millions of pounds of investment” and was on track to be “Carbon Net Zero by 2040 at the latest.”
It’s a huge privilege to serve as the first South Yorkshire Mayor and I’m proud of all we’ve achieved, but I won’t be standing again next May.
I said from the beginning that being a Mayor and an MP wasn’t a long-term arrangement. And I meant it.https://t.co/PYHA3OSjsN
— Dan Jarvis (@DanJarvisMP) September 20, 2021
Explaining his decision to reveal so early that he would not be standing, he said: “I think it’s important that potential candidates are given sufficient notice to step forward.
“South Yorkshire deserves someone of the highest calibre as their next mayor, someone who can provide the leadership that will be required.”
Despite not standing for the role of mayor again, Jarvis confirmed he plans to remain an MP for Barnsley.
“I’ve learnt and re-learnt a lot over the past few years; that devolution – done properly – has the power to transform our communities,” he said.
