# Oliver Coppard > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Oliver_Coppard > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Oliver_Coppard.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Coppard > Source revision: 1356273165 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British politician (born 1981) Oliver Coppard Coppard in 2024 Mayor of South Yorkshire Incumbent Assumed office 9 May 2022 Preceded by Dan Jarvis Personal details Born Oliver James Coppard (1981-06-09) 9 June 1981 (age 45) South Yorkshire, England Party Labour Co-op Alma mater University of Leeds (BA) **Oliver James Coppard** (born 9 June 1981) is a British [Labour and Co-operative](/source/Labour_and_Co-operative) politician serving as [Mayor of South Yorkshire](/source/Mayor_of_South_Yorkshire) since 2022.[1] He was re-elected in [2024](/source/2024_South_Yorkshire_mayoral_election).[2] ## Early life and education Coppard attended [Silverdale School](/source/Silverdale_School) and [High Storrs School](/source/High_Storrs_School).[3] He was awarded a [bachelor's degree](/source/Bachelor's_degree) in Politics and Parliamentary Studies from the [University of Leeds](/source/University_of_Leeds).[4] During his tenure at Leeds, he interned in the office of [Dick Gephardt](/source/Dick_Gephardt), then the [Democratic Leader](/source/House_Democratic_Caucus) in the [US House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives). Coppard later interned in the office of [Meg Munn](/source/Meg_Munn) when she was [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Sheffield Heeley](/source/Sheffield_Heeley_(UK_Parliament_constituency)).[5] ## Political career At the [2004 Sheffield City Council election](/source/2004_Sheffield_City_Council_election), Coppard was one of three Labour candidates who unsuccessfully contested [Graves Park](/source/Graves_Park_(ward)). Coppard volunteered for the [Obama](/source/Barack_Obama) campaign for the [2012 US presidential election](/source/2012_United_States_presidential_election). He was director of the [remain campaign](/source/Remain_campaign) in [Yorkshire and the Humber](/source/Yorkshire_and_the_Humber), and [Lincolnshire](/source/Lincolnshire) for the [2016 European Union referendum](/source/2016_European_Union_referendum). Coppard stood in [Sheffield Hallam](/source/Sheffield_Hallam_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [2015 general election](/source/2015_United_Kingdom_general_election), against then [Deputy Prime Minister](/source/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom) [Nick Clegg](/source/Nick_Clegg).[6] He failed to defeat Clegg but achieved a swing of over 16% from the [Liberal Democrats](/source/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)) to Labour. Coppard has stated that he chose not to contest the seat in [2019](/source/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election) due to [Labour antisemitism](/source/Antisemitism_in_the_British_Labour_Party).[7] In the [2022 South Yorkshire mayoral election](/source/2022_South_Yorkshire_mayoral_election), Coppard was selected as the Labour candidate.[8][5] He won the election, getting a plurality of votes in the first round, at 43.1% and defeating the [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) candidate Clive Watkinson by a margin of 71.4% to 28.6% in the second round.[9][10][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.[11] Coppard told the *[Yorkshire Post](/source/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'.[12] The scheme is delivered by the UK charity Baby Basics, who had already established the need and the format for addressing it.[13] On 22 March 2024, under Coppard's leadership the [South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority](/source/South_Yorkshire_Mayoral_Combined_Authority) formally brought the [Supertram](/source/South_Yorkshire_Supertram) under public control.[14] 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'[15] and a Sheffield Councillor called it a 'brave decision' that deserves 'all of our support' in a column for the *[Sheffield Telegraph](/source/Sheffield_Telegraph)*.'[16] Plans to bring the tram under SYMCA ownership had been set in motion by previous Mayor Dan Jarvis. ## Personal life Coppard is a resident of Sheffield. He is Jewish.[7] Coppard is the Board Chair at the [Sheffield Hallam](/source/Sheffield_Hallam_University) Students' Union. ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_1-1) ["Who is the new South Yorkshire mayor and what powers does he have?"](https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2022-05-06/who-is-the-new-south-yorkshire-mayor-and-what-powers-does-he-have). *ITV News*. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Local election results 2024 live: London mayor and West Midlands race being counted"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-68609732). *BBC News*. Retrieved 4 May 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-w253_3-0)** Hayes, Dan (23 April 2022). ["'Are you Tony Blair or Tony Benn? I'm neither.'"](https://www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/p/are-you-tony-blair-or-tony-benn-im). *Sheffield Tribune*. Retrieved 13 November 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Oliver Coppard - Linkedin"](https://uk.linkedin.com/in/olivercoppard?challengeId=AQFo8jXqPv2jTgAAAYAQOfqECSq9eYMXjglJNb-NpZVWejyfr3n7E4F3VRjV8CPIv2WYvDG4CCHm-gb3QO6fRuwYOgwrEOUHXQ&submissionId=0b6d8697-9857-e416-48f0-f91f7a6b3320). *Linkedin*. Retrieved 9 April 2022. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_5-1) ["South Yorkshire Mayor: Oliver Coppard to stand for Labour"](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-60155525). *BBC News*. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Sheffield Hallam parliamentary constituency - Election 2019"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000922). *BBC News*. Retrieved 6 May 2022. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_7-1) Timms, Daniel (22 July 2023). ["Kind, kinder, Coppard: is Sheffield's Mr Nice Guy too sweet for politics?"](https://www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/p/kind-kinder-coppard-is-sheffields). *Sheffield Tribune*. Retrieved 30 April 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["South Yorkshire mayoral candidate wants to 'realise the potential' of the region"](https://www.nationalworld.com/news/politics/who-is-oliver-coppard-labour-picks-former-sheffield-hallam-candidate-to-stand-for-south-yorkshire-mayor-3546187). *www.nationalworld.com*. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["South Yorkshire mayor result: Labour's Oliver Coppard wins"](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-61349529). *BBC News*. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["South Yorkshire Mayoral election: Live updates as the count takes place"](https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/local-elections-2022-live-south-yorkshire-mayoral-election-count-takes-place-following-results-of-sheffield-and-barnsley-local-council-elections-3682419). *www.thestar.co.uk*. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["A safe space to sleep for every child aged 0-5"](https://southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/news/article/12cf5653-9626-437b-b8e2-98884859c985). *South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority*. 12 March 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Jones, Leigh (26 March 2024). ["South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard on free children's beds scheme: 'We can make a difference'"](https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/health/south-yorkshire-mayor-oliver-coppard-on-free-childrens-beds-scheme-we-can-make-a-difference-4568305). *Yorkshire Post*.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Partnerships"](https://baby-basics.org.uk/partnerships/). *Baby Basics*. Retrieved 24 September 2025. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Walsh, David (22 March 2024). ["Supertram Sheffield: Vital network back in public hands with mayor promising to improve services"](https://www.thestar.co.uk/business/supertram-network-back-in-public-hands-with-mayor-promising-to-improve-services-4564264). Retrieved 26 March 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Sebestyen, Roland (22 March 2024). ["Bus campaign group celebrates the new deal for South Yorkshire trams and sends a message: 'The game is up'"](https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/bus-campaign-group-celebrates-the-new-deal-for-south-yorkshire-trams-and-sends-a-message-the-game-is-up-4565683). *The Star, Sheffield*. Retrieved 26 March 2024. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Parekh, Minesh (16 March 2024). ["Northern Lights: Let's get our public transport network moving once again"](https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/northern-lights-lets-get-our-public-transport-network-moving-once-again-4557932). *Sheffield Telegraph*. Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Oliver Coppard](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Oliver_Coppard). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Oliver Coppard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Coppard) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Coppard?action=history)). 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