EXCLUSIVE: Questions remain over Reform mayor’s promise to relocate to Lincolnshire as Yorkshire house listed for rent

Questions remain unanswered over Andrea Jenkyns’ promise to relocate from Yorkshire to Lincolnshire after she was elected as the Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire last May.

The Reform mayor pledged to sell her house in West Yorkshire and relocate to Lincolnshire for the role.

However, an investigation by Left Foot Forward has revealed that the West Yorkshire property is now being advertised for rent on Booking.com, at prices starting from £270 for two nights.

The same property was previously for sale on Rightmove, but the listing has now been removed.

Last October, Jenkyns, who won the mayoralty with a 40,000 majority, said she was “committed” to moving to Lincolnshire and that she was in the process of buying a house there.

A spokesperson for the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority, said at the time: “Dame Andrea Jenkyns can confirm that she is in the process of buying a house in Greater Lincolnshire.

“Her son moved to a Greater Lincolnshire school from the start of the academic year, and she is committed to living here full time once the house purchase is complete.”

However, a source told Left Foot Forward that they believed that the property in Gainsborough she was intending to buy fell through, and that they think she may still be living at her address in West Yorkshire.

In addition, locals have reportedly not seen her recently in Bassingham, near Lincoln, where she was renting a room before the mayoral election, and believe she is not staying there anymore.

This comes after earlier questions were raised over Jenkyns’ eligibility to stand in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election.

Before the vote last year, a member of independent candidate Marianne Overton’s team lodged a complaint with North Kesteven Council challenging Jenkyns’ right to stand due to her living in Yorkshire.

The council dismissed the complaint at a hearing on 25 April last year, but Overton’s team then lodged an appeal.

Overton ultimately decided not to proceed with the appeal, which would have gone to the county court.

Candidates running in mayoral elections must have lived within the combined authority area during the whole of the 12 months before the day of their nomination, Electoral Commission guidance states.

Candidates are also eligible if they have worked within the combined county authority area or if they have owned or rented land in the area over the last year.

Overton told Left Foot Forward that it was “disappointing” that Jenkyns still does not seem to be living in Lincolnshire full-time.

Overton, who is an independent councillor for Bassingham and Welbourn, said: “It’s disappointing because what we are looking for is a commitment to Greater Lincolnshire, a demonstration that she believes in it and wants us to succeed more than her home area in Yorkshire.”

She added: “All those people who voted for her will be expecting her to put them first.”

Left Foot Forward has approached Jenkyns for comment. Jenkyns has not provided a response at the time of publication. 

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward