Ed Davey has backed Lib Dem candidate Mike Ross to win the Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral Election and make history for the party, which is eyeing up its first ever metro mayor.
The Liberal Democrats have run a massive campaign in Hull and East Yorkshire. This is Ed’s second visit to the area for the campaign. The party has also sent a dozen Parliamentarians and hundreds of activists to the region.
The Liberal Democrats are the largest party across Hull and East Yorkshire with 50 Councillors across the respective councils - more than either the Conservatives or Labour.
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:
“On Thursday, a vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for real and positive change. Mike Ross is the best candidate for the job and can win.
“People across Hull and East Yorkshire are disappointed with the bad decisions Labour are making in government. Only a vote for the Liberal Democrats can send them a message this week.
“While the Liberal Democrats have been working hard all year round, Reform UK have only turned up at election time. Nigel Farage doesn’t care about people around here, he just wants to use them for his own political gain.
“Mike has a plan to improve transport and get action on the cost of living crisis. With your support, he will be banging on the door of the Government to make sure your community is no longer forgotten.”
Commenting, Liberal Democrat candidate for Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor, Cllr Mike Ross said:
“I love Hull and East Yorkshire. I’m the candidate with the right experience to do this job and I’m ready to hit the ground running from day one.
“I want the best for people here. As Mayor, I could do so much more for our area, and I’ve got the right experience to deliver change.
“I’ll fight tooth and nail to fix so many of the things that feel broken at the moment.
“One thing is clear - on doorstep after doorstep, people are saying how let down they are by this Labour Government. If you want to send Keir Starmer a message this May, you need to vote Liberal Democrat.”
The Liberal Democrats are now the bookies’ favourite to win the Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoralty, with candidate Mike Ross saying “the momentum is with the Liberal Democrats in Hull and East Yorkshire”.
The odds on Mike winning have now shortened to 6/4, as the Lib Dem campaign aims to land a historic victory.
Winning the Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral election would be the first time ever the Lib Dems have won a Metro Mayor.
The Liberal Democrats are warning voters that choosing the Conservatives, Reform or other parties will split the vote and let Labour win.
The Liberal Democrats are campaigning for:
Lib Dem candidate Mike Ross said:
“The momentum is with the Liberal Democrats in Hull and East Yorkshire, we’re the bookies favourites to win. Voting for the Conservatives and Reform will just let Keir Starmer’s Labour win.
“We have to send Labour a clear message - that they can’t let us down any longer.
“From scrapping Winter Fuel Payments to introducing a new tax on family farmers, many people are feeling betrayed by Keir Starmer. Our area has been ignored by people in Westminster for too long.
“The choice is clear - only the Liberal Democrats can beat Labour. A vote for anyone else means Keir Starmer will keep taking Hull and East Yorkshire for granted.”
Liberal Democrat candidate for the Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral election recently slammed Nigel Farage when he visited Beverley.
Winning the Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral election would be the first time ever that the Lib Dems have won a Metro Mayor. The Liberal Democrats warn voters that choosing the Conservatives, Reform or other parties will split the vote and let Labour win.
Responding to Nigel Farage’s visit to Beverley, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral election, Cllr Mike Ross, said:
“I’ve got the right skills and experience for this job, and I’m ready to hit the ground running from day one. For me, this area is the top priority.
"Nigel Farage doesn’t care about our area and is using us for his own political gain.
"He won’t get people here a fair deal, only the Liberal Democrats will. That's why people across Hull voted for the Lib Dems to run their council, and people across the East Riding returned a record number of Lib Dem councillors in 2023.
“On May 1st, the best way to send the Government a clear message that our area won’t be taken for granted any longer is to vote Lib Dem.”
Mike talks to Peter Levy on BBC Look North, and points out that he is the experienced candidate to beat in the mayoral election.
See the interview here on Facebook.
Last year, Yorkshire Water pumped 430,263 hours worth of sewage into waterways, according to new data published.
In Hull and East Yorkshire, residents are increasingly concerned about the spoiling of the East Yorkshire coastline, as well as pollution in the River Hull and the Humber.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for the government to replace Ofwat with a new regulator with proper enforcement powers to hold water companies accountable and put a stop to the sewage scandal.
Mike Ross, Leader of Hull City Council and Lib Dem candidate for the Hull and East Yorkshire mayoralty, said:
“Here in Hull and East Yorkshire, residents are appalled by what’s happening to the Humber and the East Yorkshire coastline, all whilst facing sky-high water bills.
“The Government should act now to get a new regulator in place to protect British rivers and seas from being pumped with disgusting sewage. Ofwat must go.
“I and the Liberal Democrats will continue to protect the East Yorkshire coastline and fight for much tougher regulation of a water industry which is profiting from pollution.”
Last week Mike opened the Trade Fair and Exhibition at Amazing Grace chapel.
This Church has a congregation of around 800. They decided to put on the Trade Fair to promote the businesses within their congregation to the wider community. The event was held across Friday and Saturday.
After cutting the ribbon, Mike was given a tour around the stands. There was a real buzz at the event. The food was delightful and the colours were amazing.
One of the big tasks as mayor will be to encourage more business in the area, so it was great for Mike to see this Church that was helping do that.
Local digital video specialists INT Creative hosted a visit from Mike in their Hull studios.
"Yesterday, we had the pleasure of welcoming Hull City Council leader and Liberal Democrat’s Mayoral candidate Mike Ross to experience our cutting-edge VR & AI Training first-hand.
Mike went head-to-head with a sceptical journalist in our virtual training scenario—and not only won them over but set a new high score!
This technology is a game-changer for public speaking, HR scenarios, sales training, job interviews, and more."
Mike has long championed Hull's digital economy.
Mike Ross was very quick to get involved in the activities around the recent collision of two ships off the coast of East Yorkshire. There has been some discharge of microplastics into the local waters, and Mike has made it clear that the polluter should pay. As a maritime and police investigation continues Mike is keeping abreast of developments.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey visited Mike today and went out to meet some local residents, and hear their point of view on the challenges and opportunities facing our region.
Mike and Ed focused on their message of a unified party which believes in fairness, prosperity and good local services. It went down well with local voters!
Mike has recently met with Cottingham Liberal Democrat Councillor Phil Redshaw to lend his support to the campaign against fly tipping in East Yorkshire.
Mike will work with local councillors to try and bring this scourge to an end.
Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, Mike Ross, joined campaigners in Westminster recently as they held a rally calling on the Government to address the crisis in social care.
The social care sector has united to protest, reflecting the shocking scale of the crisis facing care. Mike Ross called for the Government to exempt care providers from their “self-defeating” national insurance rise and to complete their social care review within the year, currently, it is scheduled to take three years.
As Mayor Mike would be pushing to see more done to improve the environment in the Hull and East Yorkshire area, so he was delighted to be invited along to see the work taking place to create a major new woodland, on the edge of Cottingham. The project has benefits for the environment, helping recover nature and is a great way of tackling flood concerns, another issue for the Mayor.
Mike met the team from Yorkshire Water, who are planting over 38,000 native trees, supported by the Woodland Trust.
Mike was impressed with the job done so far, which has seen nearly all the trees planted since November and even got to plant one for himself!
Mike visited Kingston Badminton club during their club tournament. As leader of the council, Mike supported the club last year, which made a crucial difference in helping a tournament the club held last summer go ahead.
Mike is a big sports fan himself, so was keen to see how the club is doing. As mayor Mike would want to work with the sports clubs in the region, large and small, to encourage more people to take up sport.
In the 2025/26 Hull City Council budget, the Liberal Democrat administration has set out that they will be making £200,000 available for new crews. The teams will help ensure residents and their property are safe from falling trees and that gullies are kept clear, reducing the risk of flooding.
The new teams will work alongside the 'Love Your Neighbourhood' scheme and will sit at the heart of the Council’s plans to make Hull a cleaner place.
The Lib Dems have also announced the 'Love Your Neighbourhood' programme will see a £400,000 investment this year. This flagship scheme has visited over 307 streets across the city since it began and has helped clear over 60km of pavement and roads of leaves during the autumn season.
The 'Love Your Neighbourhood' team will continue its work in making Hull a cleaner city and the budget will also deliver support to help tackle other street cleanliness issues such as graffiti, road markings and dog fouling.
If approved at the Council’s annual budget meeting later this month, the additional resource will come into action soon after.
Commenting on the announcement, Liberal Democrat Leader of Hull City Council Cllr Mike Ross said:
“We want to see the council's budget tackle the priorities of residents across the city and many have shared with us concerns about overhanging tree branches and gully street cleaning.
"As a result, this Lib Dem Council is listening and funding an extra £200,000 per year for new teams to tackle tree and gully maintenance.
“This budget sees brand new investment to make Hull’s streets cleaner, new investment to make communities safer and, most importantly, uses taxpayers' money to get the basics right.”
As Mayor Mike would be pushing to see more done to improve the environment in the Hull and East Yorkshire area, so he was delighted to be invited along to see the work taking place to create a major new woodland, on the edge of Cottingham.
Mike visited Kingston Badminton club during their club tournament. As leader of the council, Mike supported the club last year, which made a crucial difference in helping a tournament the club held last summer go ahead. Mike is a big sports fan himself,
The Liberal Democrats on Hull City Council have announced two new teams to tackle tree maintenance and gully cleaning across Hull
