Former BBC East Midlands Today newsman John Hess is no stranger to reporting on election campaigns. But now, for the first time, he is to be a candidate.
John has been chosen by local Labour Party members in Radcliffe to be their candidate for the Nottinghamshire County Council elections, being held on Thursday, 1 May.
“I’m really honoured to have been selected, and I’m already out and about, meeting residents in Radcliffe and the neighbouring villages to find out their local concerns,” he said.
The Radcliffe-on-Trent County Council division also includes Shelford, Saxondale, Newton, Holme Pierrepont, and Gamston North.
John is a familiar and trusted broadcast face and voice in Nottinghamshire.
He was the BBC’s first political editor for the East Midlands, and for 20 years, he regularly appeared on BBC TV’s East Midlands Today and Sunday Politics, reporting from Downing Street and, nearer to home, on the local political scene.
Having observed politics for most of his career, John is delighted to have the opportunity to get stuck into election campaigning.
“This is a growing area of Nottinghamshire, and many of the issues are connected with ensuring Radcliffe gets the infrastructure and services from County Hall that our residents and newcomers expect,” John added.
On his retirement from the BBC 10 years ago, John was elected onto the board of Inspire, which runs the libraries (including Radcliffe’s), music teaching in schools, and Nottinghamshire’s archives service.
Since 2016, he has been chair of trustees for Music for Everyone, which runs a range of music-making activities in Nottinghamshire, including its popular youth events at Radcliffe’s South Notts Academy.
A resident of Rushcliffe for 28 years, he knows the communities of South Nottinghamshire very well. A father of three grown-up children and a grandfather, John can be spotted during the summer months at Trent Bridge, where he is a member of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.
He is also an Honorary Professor at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham.
