Kate Allsop is a British local politician who was the directly elected

mayor of Mansfield The Mayor of Mansfield is the directly elected executive mayor of the district of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England. A new appointment was created from 2002 following moves made by a Mansfield-based businessman to change the governance of M ...

from 2015 until the 2019 election when she was beaten by Labour candidate Andy Abrahams by two votes.

Early Political Career

She first stood for the post in 2002 as a member of the Conservative Party. Allsop left the Conservative party in 2003 to become an "Independent Conservative", describing herself in the local newspaper as "true blue", remaining as president of Mansfield's Conservative Association. She later joined the Mansfield Independent Forum and was elected as a councillor in 2011.

Mayor of Mansfield

Allsop succeeded

Tony Egginton Tony Egginton (born 1951) was the first directly elected Mayor of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, England. He was elected to the position on 17 October 2002, beating Labour's Lorna Carter by 588 votes, ending 30 years of Labour control. Egginto ...

as mayor after beating the Labour party candidate in the 2015 Mayoral election. Her campaign was afterwards subjected to a Police investigation after allegations were made regarding potential breaches of electoral law, involving spending more on campaigning than the permitted maximum of £6,969.72. The

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

's lawyer subsequently confirmed the probe had been dropped due to "...insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.". As Mayor of Mansfield, she was in control of the

Mansfield District Mansfield District is a local government district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is named after the town of Mansfield, where the council is based. The district also contains Mansfield Woodhouse (which forms part of the Mansfield urban area) ...

Involvement in Brexit Party

Following her tenure as mayor, Allsop briefly served as an advisor to Merthyr Tydfil council before the agreement of £300 per day plus expenses was terminated when, abruptly, she publicly announced her intention to be the

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

's parliamentary candidate in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

. Allsop had been recruited as an experienced

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

former local bureaucrat "...to develop and strengthen working relationships across all political groups and between members and officers.". Following Allsop's announcement to stand as an MP without notifying her employer (the Welsh

devolved government Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

), her 'independent' status was fundamentally changed and compromised the basis on which she had been selected, by becoming prominently engaged in national political activity.Written Statement: Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
Julie James, AM, Minister for Housing and Local Government, https://gov.wales, 6 August 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019 Welsh Government minister Julie James stated it would be "inappropriate" for Allsop to continue in the role as an independent advisor. Allsop learned on 11 November of Brexit Party supremo

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

's decision to withdraw their parliamentary candidates in the 12 December 2019 general election from 317 areas having a sitting conservative MP – including Mansfield, where Allsop had planned to stand since before losing her job as an adviser to Merthyr council in August.Former Mansfield mayor and would-be Brexit Party candidate 'heartbroken' at withdrawal
''Chad'', 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allsop, Kate Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Mayors of places in Nottinghamshire People from Mansfield Conservative Party (UK) mayors Reform UK politicians Women mayors of places in England