ABOUT OLIVER COPPARD - THE MAYOR OF SOUTH YORKSHIRE

I’m Oliver Coppard and it is my honour to serve as South Yorkshire’s Mayor.

I was born and raised in South Yorkshire; this is my home.

I grew up here in the 1980s and I saw first-hand how decisions taken far away changed our lives. Our industries were shut down and our buses were privatised.

We’re a region in which the bonds of community were forged in the creation of our industries, and our shared prosperity was once the bedrock of our common purpose. But as our industries declined, and our communities fractured, our region was left behind.

Growing up here I knew that we deserved so much better. That’s why I’m proud to be South Yorkshire’s Mayor and promise to work everyday in restoring the pride, purpose and prosperity of our region!

You can view my manifesto in full here (PDF, 1.1Mb) 

I’ve worked with young people in Barnsley and led low carbon regeneration projects in the Dearne Valley for our Local Enterprise Partnership.

A lot of you may remember me from 2015, when I took on Nick Clegg in Sheffield Hallam, bringing people together behind a vision of a better politics and a stronger community.  

And I was recently Chair of the Board at Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union, an organisation that represents 30,000 people across South Yorkshire.

Outside of South Yorkshire, until recently I was leading on local government relationships for a national charity. I’ve worked in Parliament and in Congress and campaigned for everyone from Presidents to Parish Councillors.

As South Yorkshire’s Mayor I’m offering new ideas, a new approach and a different type of politics for our region; because we need a new generation of leadership who will fight for the change we need in South Yorkshire, bringing people together and empowering our communities.

You can follow Oliver on Twitter @OliverCoppard and @SouthYorksMayor