Ashfield Independents | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Helen Smith |
| Treasurer | Thomas Hollis |
| Nominating Officer | Jason Zadrozny |
| Founded | 28 July 2016 |
| Headquarters | 84-86 Outram Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, NG17 4FS |
| Ashfield District Council | 32 / 35 |
| Nottinghamshire County Council | 10 / 66 |
| Annesley and Felley Parish Council | 7 / 13 |
| Selston Parish Council | 8 / 21 |
| Website | |
| ashfieldindependents.org | |
The Ashfield Independents are a political party in the Ashfield District in Nottinghamshire, England.
In 2017, the Ashfield Independents stood candidates in the Nottinghamshire County Council elections. They won five seats. [1]
A month later, Gail Turner ran for the party in the 2017 general election and gained 9.2% of the vote with 4,612 votes, receiving the second-highest vote share of an independent candidate in England; however, Labour retained the seat. [2]
The party won two by-elections to Ashfield District Council in 2017 and 2018 in the Hucknall North [3] and Sutton Junction & Harlow Wood wards. [4]
In 2019 the party stood candidates across Ashfield District Council and won 30 of the 35 seats, taking overall control of the authority. [5] The party also stood candidates in the neighbouring Broxtowe Borough Council, winning a single seat. [6] In addition the party won control of Annesley and Felley Parish Council.
In July 2019, party leader Jason Zadrozny announced that he would be a candidate for the Ashfield constituency when the next general election was held. [7] The election came in December 2019 and Zadrozny came second with 27.6% of the vote.
In the 2021 local elections across the UK, the party won an increased 11 seats on Nottinghamshire County Council, winning every seat in the Ashfield District. [8]
in the 2023 Ashfield District Council election, the party increased their majority by two seats on the Ashfield District Council, taking a seat each off of the Tories and Labour, for a total seat count of 32. [9] [10]
There are currently 35 councillors in the Ashfield District Council, 32 of whom are members of the Ashfield Independents. [11] Councillor Dave Hennigan was elected in 2019 as an Ashfield Independent, but was expelled in May 2020 after disagreements with the rest of the party. [12]
| Councillor | Ward |
|---|---|
| John Baird | Summit |
| Kier Barsby | St Mary's |
| Jim Blagden | Hucknall Central |
| Christian Chapman | Jacksdale |
| Samantha Deakin | Central & New Cross |
| Andy Gascoyne | Selston |
| Dale Grounds | Kingsway |
| Arnie Hankin | Selston |
| Andrew Harding | Huthwaite & Brierley |
| Tom Hollis | Huthwaite & Brierley |
| Trevor Locke | Hucknall Central |
| Rachel Madden | Kirkby Woodhouse |
| Sarah Madigan | Leamington |
| Andy Meakin | Abbey Hill |
| Warren Nuttall | Summit |
| Matthew Relf | Sutton Junction & Harlow Wood |
| Dave Shaw | Hucknall North |
| John Smallridge | Carsic |
| Helen-Ann Smith | Stanton Hill & Teversal |
| David Walters | Ashfields |
| Lee Waters | Hucknall North |
| Caroline Wilkinson | The Dales |
| Daniel Williamson | Kirkby Cross & Portland |
| John Wilmott | Hucknall North |
| Jason Zadrozny | Larwood |
There was one councillor on Broxtowe Borough Council who is a member of the Ashfield Independents: [13]
| Councillor | Ward |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth Williamson | Brinsley |
There are 10 councillors on Nottinghamshire County Council who are members of the Ashfield Independents: [14]
All Ashfield Independent councillors on Nottinghamshire county council sit as part of the Independent Alliance, headed by Jason Zadrozny, of which there is 15 members. Jason Zadrozny is joint leader of the opposition on Nottinghamshire County Council.
| Councillor | Division |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth Williamson | Greasley and Brinsley |
| John Wilmott | Hucknall North |
| Lee Waters | Hucknall South |
| Dave Shaw | Hucknall West |
| Andy Meakin | Kirkby North |
| Daniel Williamson | Kirkby South |
| Samantha Deakin | Sutton Central & East |
| Tom Hollis | Sutton West |
| David Martin | Selston |
| Helen Ann-Smith | Sutton North |
| Jason Zadrozny | Ashfields |
| Election | Candidate | Total votes | % | % in contest seat | Place in Ashfield | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Roy Adkins | 2,292 | 0.0% | 5.5% | 4th | |
| 2017 | Gail Turner | 4,612 | 0.0% | 9.2% | 3rd | |
| 2019 | Jason Zadrozny | 13,498 | 0.1% | 27.6% | 2nd | |
In November 2022 Zadrozny and five other Ashfield Independent Councillors were arrested for fraud, election offences, money laundering and misconduct in public office. [15]
On 23 June 2023, Zadrozny was charged with 22 offences including 12 counts of fraud by misrepresentation, five counts of money laundering, four counts of income tax evasion, and possession of a Class A drug. [16]
The fraud by false representation charges relate to the alleged misuse of Nottinghamshire County Council funds between 14 February 2018 and 16 February 2021. [17]
As part of the same investigation, Tom Hollis was charged with two offences for allegedly failing to declare his disclosable pecuniary interest in a property, between 30 May 2019 and 10 September 2021. [17] A spokesperson for the Ashfield Independents said both Zadrozny and Hollis "absolutely deny" the charges and "look forward to clearing their name". [16] Hollis subsequently pleaded guilty. [18]
Ashfield is a local government district in Nottinghamshire, England. The council is based in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, but the largest town is neighbouring Sutton-in-Ashfield. The district also contains the town of Hucknall and a few villages. The district is mostly urban, with some of its settlements forming parts of both the Nottingham and Mansfield Urban Areas.
Broxtowe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. It lies immediately west of the city of Nottingham, and most of the built-up areas of the borough form part of the Nottingham Urban Area. The council is based in Beeston and the borough also includes the towns of Eastwood, Kimberley and Stapleford and surrounding villages and rural areas.
Ashfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Lee Anderson, formerly of the Conservative Party, but who had the whip suspended in February 2024. The constituency is in the English county of Nottinghamshire, East Midlands; located to the north west of the city of Nottingham in the Erewash Valley along the border with neighbouring county Derbyshire. Ashfield was part of the Red Wall which by and large, voted Conservative in the 2019 general election. In the 2016 referendum on membership of the European Union, Ashfield voted 70% in favour of Brexit.
Broxtowe is a parliamentary constituency in Nottinghamshire, England, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Darren Henry, a Conservative.
Mansfield is a constituency created in 1885 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Ben Bradley of the Conservative Party, who gained the seat at the 2017 general election, from the Labour Party. This is the first time the seat has been represented by a Conservative since its creation in 1885.
Broxtowe Borough Council elections are held every four years. Broxtowe Borough Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan district of Borough of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, England. Since the full review of boundaries in 2015, 44 councillors are elected from 20 wards.
Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election was held in 2021.
Benjamin David Bradley is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, since the 2017 general election.
Jason Bernard Zadrozny is a British local politician from the Ashfield Independents and Leader of Ashfield District Council.
Elections to Nottinghamshire County Council took place on 4 June 2009, having been delayed from 7 May, in order to coincide with elections to the European Parliament.
Mansfield Independents, previously known as Mansfield Independent Forum, is a local political party in the local government district of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England. It was officially registered in 2005, having already successfully campaigned for the election of Tony Egginton as Mayor of Mansfield two years earlier. Egginton had stood for election after being convinced to do so by the leader of the pro-Mayoralty campaign, Stewart Rickersey.
The 2015 Ashfield District Council election took place on 7 May 2015, to elect members of Ashfield District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.
The Nottingham Independents is a political party in the area of Nottingham City in Nottinghamshire, England. It was officially registered in January 2018, planning to contest elections in the area of Nottingham. The party is now the largest opposition group in Nottingham City Council after the 2019 elections.
The 2023 Broxtowe Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023, to elect all 44 members of Broxtowe Borough Council in England. This took place as part of the 2023 United Kingdom local elections.
The 2023 Gedling Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023, to elect all 41 members of Gedling Borough Council in England. This took place as part of the 2023 United Kingdom local elections.
The 2023 Ashfield District Council election took place on 4 May 2023, to elect all 35 members of Ashfield District Council in Nottinghamshire, England. This was on the same day as other local elections in England.
The 2023 Nottingham City Council election took place on 4 May 2023, to elect all 55 members of Nottingham City Council in England. It took place as part of the 2023 United Kingdom local elections.
The 2023 Mansfield District Council election took place on 4 May 2023, to elect all 36 members of Mansfield District Council in England and the directly-elected Mayor of Mansfield. This was on the same day as the 2023 local elections in England.
The 2024 East Midlands mayoral election is due to be held on 2 May 2024 to elect the first mayor of the East Midlands.