Oliver Coppard
Oliver Coppard | |
|---|---|
 Oliver Coppard, speaking at a Resolution Foundation event, in 2023 | |
| Mayor of South Yorkshire | |
| Assumed office 9 May 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Jarvis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Oliver James Coppard 9 June 1981 South Yorkshire, England |
| Political party | Labour Co-op |
| Alma mater | University of Leeds (BA) |
Oliver James Coppard (born 9 June 1981) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician serving as Mayor of South Yorkshire since 2022.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
Coppard attended Silverdale School and High Storrs School. He was awarded a bachelor's degree in Politics and Parliamentary Studies from the University of Leeds.[2] During his tenure at Leeds, he interned in the office of Dick Gephardt, then the Democratic Leader in the US House of Representatives. Coppard later interned in the office of Meg Munn when she was Member of Parliament for Sheffield Heeley.
Coppard is a resident of Sheffield. He is Jewish.[3] Coppard is the Board Chair at the Sheffield Hallam Students' Union.[4]
Political career[edit]
At the 2004 Sheffield City Council election, Coppard was one of three Labour candidates who unsuccessfully contested Graves Park.
Coppard volunteered for the Obama camapaign for the 2012 US presidential election. He was director of the remain campaign in Yorkshire, the Humber and Lincolnshire for the 2016 European Union referendum.
Coppard stood in Sheffield Hallam at the 2015 general election, against then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.[5] He failed to defeat Clegg but achieved a swing of over 16% from the Liberal Democrats to Labour. Coppard has stated that he chose not to contest the seat in 2019 due to Labour antisemitism.[3]
In the 2022 South Yorkshire mayoral election, Coppard was selected as the Labour candidate.[6][4] He won the election, getting a plurality of votes in the first round, at 43.1% and defeating the Conservative candidate Clive Watkinson by a margin of 71.4% to 28.6% in the second round.[7][8][1]
On 12 March 2024, Coppard announced £2.2 million funding to provide a safe space to sleep for every child aged 0-5 in South Yorkshire.[9] Coppard told the Yorkshire Post that he established the programme because he knew that 'one in nine babies that go home from hospital in Sheffield alone go home without a safe place to sleep' and they can 'end up sleeping in a bath or a box, a drawer, in a bouncy chair'.[10]
On 22 March 2024, under Coppard's leadership the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority formally brought the Supertram under public control.[11] This move was welcomed by commentators, with Matthew Topham from Better Buses for South Yorkshire calling 'a day of celebration when our local transport will be run by and for the people it serves'[12] and a Sheffield Councillor called it a 'brave decision' that deserves 'all of our support' in a column for the Sheffield Telegraph.'[13]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Who is the new South Yorkshire mayor and what powers does he have?". ITV News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Oliver Coppard - Linkedin". Linkedin. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ a b Timms, Daniel (22 July 2023). "Kind, kinder, Coppard: is Sheffield's Mr Nice Guy too sweet for politics?". Sheffield Tribune. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ a b "South Yorkshire Mayor: Oliver Coppard to stand for Labour". BBC News. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ "Sheffield Hallam parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "South Yorkshire mayoral candidate wants to 'realise the potential' of the region". www.nationalworld.com. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ "South Yorkshire mayor result: Labour's Oliver Coppard wins". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "South Yorkshire Mayoral election: Live updates as the count takes place". www.thestar.co.uk. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "A safe space to sleep for every child aged 0-5". South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. 12 March 2024.
- ^ Jones, Leigh (26 March 2024). "South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard on free children's beds scheme: 'We can make a difference'". Yorkshire Post. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024.
- ^ Walsh, David (22 March 2024). "Supertram Sheffield: Vital network back in public hands with mayor promising to improve services". Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ Sebestyen, Roland (22 March 2024). "Bus campaign group celebrates the new deal for South Yorkshire trams and sends a message: 'The game is up'". The Star, Sheffield. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ Parekh, Minesh (16 March 2024). "Northern Lights: Let's get our public transport network moving once again". Sheffield Telegraph.