Labour candidate for mayor announced

Lorna Fielker was the leader of Southampton City Council and pushed for devolution with the three other top tier authority leaders

The Labour party has named its candidate for the Hampshire and Solent mayoral contest.

Councillor Lorna Fielker represents the Swaythling ward on Southampton City Council.

She was the leader between January 2024 and May 2025 and in that time made the application for devolution alongside the leaders of Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth City Council.

Elections for the mayor for Hampshire and the Solent - who will lead a new combined authority - are due to take place in May 2026.

Lorna Fielker said she had supported the devolution plan because "a mayor has the ability to bring together business, education, councils, all those areas and speak with one voice for the region".

She added the role would help bring investment in but also enable problems with issues like lack of affordable housing to be fixed from a regional perspective.

During her time as leader, Southampton City Council went through a transformation plan, after needing exceptional financial support from the government.

Ms Fielker admitted that convincing people the mayor could improve their lives was the challenge, but it was important for improving skills, housing and transport in the region.

Donna Jones, the current police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has been selected as the Conservatives' candidate.

Martin Tod, the leader of Winchester City Council is standing for the Liberal Democrats.

The Green party candidate is Anna Collar, an archaeologist living in Lyndhurst who works as an associate professor at the University of Southampton

Reform UK have said their candidate will be announced very shortly.