Labour selects candidate to run for mayor

Anna Smith is the current deputy mayor for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority

The Labour Party has announced its candidate for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral elections, being held in May.

Anna Smith, a Cambridge city councillor and the current deputy mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, has been selected.

It comes after Nik Johnson, the current Labour mayor, said he would not seek re-election as his four-year tenure had taken a "very heavy toll".

A former leader of Cambridge City Council, Smith said if elected she would "drive growth and create opportunities for everyone in our region".

Nik Johnson, current mayor for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, is not seeking re-election

Smith has lived and worked in Cambridge since 1995 and is a former teacher at Hills Road Sixth Form College.

Paul Bristow, the former Conservative MP for Peterborough, has been announced as the Tories' mayoral candidate.

Lorna Dupre, a Cambridgeshire county councillor and the leader of the Liberal Democrat & Independent Group on East Cambridgeshire District Council, has been chosen as the Liberal Democrat candidate.

The combined authority was set up in 2017. It works with the seven local district, county and unitary councils, and with business groups and universities.

Its responsibilities include overseeing transport and digital connectivity infrastructure, employment skills, economic growth, and housing strategy and provision.