Cambridge City Council: Anna Smith chosen as new leader

Anna Smith said she was "honoured" to be the new Cambridge City Council leader

The proposed new leader of Cambridge City Council has said she is "delighted and honoured" to have been chosen.

Councillor Anna Smith was elected by fellow Labour councillors to be the new leader of the political group at a meeting on Tuesday.

She succeeds councillor Lewis Herbert, who announced he would be stepping down as leader last week.

Ms Smith, who represents the Coleridge ward, is due to take over the position at the end of November.

She will be formally proposed as the new leader at an extra council meeting also due to be arranged next month.

'Strong team'

The councillor said she would "do everything she can" to fulfil the trust her group's councillors had put in her.

"These are tough times for a local council, but we have a manifesto I'm proud of, and a really strong team of councillors and officers," she said.

Lewis Herbert stepped down after more than seven years in the role, but will remain as a ward councillor for Coleridge.

The appointment comes as the authority revealed it must make savings of £7.5m by 2026 to balance the books.