'I don't agree with everything the government has done, but I can be a critical friend to them'

THERE'S one thing that Jason Stockwood agrees with Reform leader Nigel Farage on - Lincolnshire could use a businessman in charge.

- BY JAMIE WALLER Local Democracy Reporter

“I was watching one of his rallies and he said we need more businesspeople in charge - he’s actually right there!” the Labour candidate recalled.

The Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election is the first time the Grimsby-born entrepreneur has ever stood for office.

He's spent most of his career building businesses in the tech sector, chairing his beloved Grimsby Town Football Club, and launching a charity to brighten the future for his hometown.

His companies have won multiple Sunday Times’ Best Place to Work awards and he was once crowned Leader of the Year.

So why enter politics at all?

“I have been Labour my whole life - I was born on a council estate to a single parent, so I’m a product of the welfare state,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“People asked me to become an MP before, but it never appealed to me because you can’t always speak your mind.

“This role is different. I don’t need a job, I’m doing this because I care about the place.

“And the alternatives aren’t palatable - they're all career politicians who are running because they do need the job.

“The mayor should be someone with credentials to run a large organisation. My last company had 1,000 employees and sold for £400m.

“I've got the optimism, resilience, energy and vision that comes from business.”

He's taken this philosophy of doing things differently to his campaigning.

Inspired by books on road trips across America, he is cycling over 300 miles across the county to meet residents face-to-face.

He arrives at The Hub, in Sleaford, on day five of the trip clad in fluorescent biking gear for a teacake and a chat with voters.