Liverpool City Region mayor not running for Parliament

Steve Rotheram thinks local Labour activists should have an input into choosing the candidate for his former seat of Liverpool Walton

Newly-elected Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has confirmed he will not seek re-election as Labour MP for the Liverpool Walton seat.

Mr Rotheram, 55, who was elected as the first city region mayor last week, was first elected MP for Walton in 2010.

Labour's NEC will now select a Walton candidate, who must be nominated to stand by 16:00 BST on Thursday.

Mr Rotheram criticised the party's decision not to give his local party a say in picking his successor.

He said: "Over the last few weeks, since the announcement of the snap general election, I have spoken with numerous people to try to ensure they understand the depth of feeling that a local candidate should be chosen to succeed me - just as my predecessor did when I was selected in 2010.

"I believe the failure of the Labour Party to allow local representation on the panels to select candidates is a significant misjudgement."

He added: "I have tried my utmost to convince the powers that be that the most acceptable solution would be a local representative on the ballot paper to succeed me as the next Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton, given that there are potentially some high calibre candidates of which to select."