In the 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 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 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]
On 22 March 2024, under Coppard's leadership the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority formally brought the Supertram under public control.[13] 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'[14] and a Sheffield Councillor called it a 'brave decision' that deserves 'all of our support' in a column for the Sheffield Telegraph.'[15]
Personal life
Coppard is a resident of Sheffield. He is Jewish.[16] Coppard is the Board Chair at the Sheffield Hallam Students' Union.
