Councillor Gary Ridley represents the Local Government Association on the Business in the Community (BITC) Place Taskforce. He has been a member of the policy board for Culture, Tourism and Sport at the LGA since 2021. He is a councillor for Coventry City Council, representing Woodlands Ward and has served as Leader of the Opposition since 2017. He has held a number of Cabinet positions within local government, several non-executive appointments on a range of organisations and previously worked for the European Parliament. In addition to his political responsibilities, he currently works for national walking and cycling charity Sustrans where he is helping to create more liveable communities.