The current mayor is Jason Perry of the Conservative Party, elected in May 2022, and the first holder of the post.

The Labour councillor Sean Fitzsimons defended the choice to hold the referendum in October, saying that the prospective mayor could then be elected alongside the council in May 2022.

[8] The Conservatives selected their council group leader Jason Perry to be their mayoral candidate in October 2021.

The former deputy mayor of London Val Shawcross was selected as the Labour candidate in December 2021.

[11] The Green Party selected Peter Underwood as their candidate in November 2021.