Doncaster elections 2025: Richie Vallance says he “speaks for the people” of Doncaster in interview

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has offered one-to-one interviews with every single candidate for Doncaster mayor – offering them the opportunity to sell themselves and their parties to voters and getting them to answer important questions.

“It’s not just a case of what I’m going to do,” Vallance said, “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.“Doncaster is my home and I have just seen it crumble and decimate.

“I think people should vote for me because I’m just like them. I’m a common man.”

As mayor, Vallance said he would “take from the greedy and give to the needy”.He said: “We have people literally living in the street in our - what was once beautiful - city centre.

“There has always been a divide and that’s getting bigger and bigger.

“I want to invest in real affordable housing for locals, youth clubs, recreationalspaces, real community spirit.

“I look back on my life and what it was. I want to make Doncaster Doncaster again.”

Vallance said Reform UK’s Alexander Jones and the Conservative’s Nick Fletcher had “copied” his manifesto from the 2021 elections.

He said: “People think ‘Richie doesn’t know what he’s doing’ but I do know what I’m doing.

“I have been slandered, beaten down and abused, but I get back up. I want a better place for our children.”

Vallance said he would “reclaim” the town centre from “decay and corruption”. When asked to specify what he meant by “corruption”, he said there were “conglomerates that are buying up our town”.

He added he wanted to turn the council into a business, adding: “I am business-orientated. I do have business experience.

“I want to turn the council into a user-led organisation.

"I want to give people jobs in the city centre and I want to create more jobs for the youth.”

He said: “I want to slash the budget. I think I could save at least half the budget by combining adult and children’s social care into one family service.

“I think I could save a lot of the waste by cutting budgets.”

Vallance told the LDRS that if he became mayor he would “invest in real affordable housing for locals”, “deep clean the streets” and offer “stiff support for the NHS and a brand new hospital”.

He said: “I’m here to speak for the people.“It’s very personal to me. I take this to heart. I’m a Donny lad.”

Whilst campaigning, Vallance has previously said he would have Reform UK councillors in the council’s immigration department.

When the LDRS asked him about this, clarifying the council does not have any immigration powers, Vallance said: “It was a joke. I will create an immigration department. Reform need to learn what immigration is.”

Vallance’s social media profiles have claimed he approached Reform UK to be their candidate, but he was rejected.

He told the LDRS he thought the backing of a political party would be beneficial, but said: “When I went looking for their policies, I saw they didn’t have any.”

Vallance made headlines in 2016 when he appeared in court after ‘causing alarm and distress’ to two nurses – a “mistake” he now regrets.

He told the LDRS: “I’m deeply sorry and remorseful for what I have done. I scared the s*** out of two nurses and I regret that.

“I’m not proud of it but I have changed a lot since then.

“At the end of the day, a clown mayor is not what we want.

"We want someone from Doncaster, someone that’s local. That’s me and that’s what I think I should be.”