Who is new county council leader Mick Barton?

BBC News

13-05-2025

"Don't get me wrong, it's daunting, but I know I can deliver and do the job."Two weeks ago, Mick Barton had never been elected as a Nottinghamshire County Councillor.Now, he is not only part of the group that has taken charge, but also its leader.A former mineworker, he once worked alongside the Reform MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson.
"We were both coalface workers. Now we're in the same political party. Who'd have thought that back then?" Barton said.He went on to become a car sales executive before setting up his own business in 2000.He was first elected to Mansfield District Council in 2003 and has spent most of his political career as part of the Mansfield Independents, but joined Reform along with two colleagues last year.At the district council, he's held cabinet roles with responsibility for areas such as planning and licensing."I think I've done my apprenticeship," he told me.The county council, however, is a very different beast.As an upper tier authority, it has responsibility for the so called "big-ticket" services such as social care and road maintenance.
As a newcomer to the council, some may naturally question whether Barton has the experience for such a big job."They'll have to judge me over the next 12 months, 24 months, 36 months and four years," he said."But it's not just about me, it's about the people I'm working with, and cross-party as well. We'll be looking for support from the other parties in the chamber."
What will Reform's approach be to running the council?
Nigel Farage has suggested Reform would look to emulate Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, and said he wanted to "reduce the scale of local government back to what it ought to be".So, can we expect a Nottinghamshire equivalent of "Doge"?"Before we make any decision, we'll look at every single detail. We will look to improve people's lives in Nottinghamshire," Barton told me."It doesn't seem like you're able to say where the money's going to be found?" I asked."I can't, I've only been in the job 30 minutes," he answered."Until I see all the detail, I can't give you details of where we're going to save the money but obviously we want to save money."He gave similar responses to questions over whether council workers will be allowed to work from home and if he will look cut back on net zero initiatives - two areas which senior party figures have already commented on."Sorry to sound like a stuck record," he added. "Until I sit down with my cabinet and all 39 people I've been elected with - and I'm sure we'll get some direction from head office - until we sit down, I can't give you any definitive answer."
He did, however, raise further questions over where the council's headquarters will be in the future.Under the Conservatives, the authority relocated to Oak House near Hucknall in March.But since the move, multiple meetings, the election results, and indeed the interview I conducted with Barton, have all been held at the old base at County Hall.He told me he has asked if the first full meeting of the new administration could be held "at this magnificent council chamber", but was told the microphone system has already been moved to Oak House."I shall be looking at the whole raft moving forward of where we feel we need to be based," he said.He added he is opposed to unitary councils, which Nottinghamshire could be transformed into under government plans."I think it's better off keeping stuff locally, without sucking it up into one big authority, but I'm sure people will try and convince me and my group over the next six months or twelve months as to why this unitary thing needs to go forward," he said.He refused to comment on the resignation of one of Reform's councillors a matter of days after being elected, but said he is confident others in the group will not follow suit.Barton is set to be formally confirmed as leader of the county council at a full council meeting next week.