Gill Furniss to contest Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough by-election

Labour's Gill Furniss has been nominated to contest the forthcoming Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough by-election

The widow of former MP Harry Harpham has been selected as Labour's candidate to fight the by-election triggered by his death from cancer.

Gill Furniss will contest the Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough seat.

She said she was "deeply humbled" by her selection adding: "It is a by-election none of us wanted but one we must all work hard to win."

Mr Harpham died in February nine months after he was elected with a majority of 13,807.

Ms Furniss, a former librarian and hospital worker, has been a city councillor for Sheffield's Southey ward for 16 years.

She described her nomination as "bitter-sweet".

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn congratulated Ms Furniss on her nomination

"Obviously I would rather that he was here carrying on his work, but I know that he would be absolutely thrilled," she said.

"Harry was only told he had terminal cancer last October and he was expected to live longer, so it was a shock that he only had four more months.

"Both being optimists, we never discussed what might happen to the seat after he was gone and it never occurred to me that I might stand.

"[But] I gave it a lot of thought, and I felt it was the right thing to do.".

The Liberal Democrats have announced Shaffaq Mohammed will contest the by-election while Christine Gilligan Kubo has been nominated to stand for the Green Party.

No date has yet been set for the by-election.

Labour had a comfortable majority of 13,807 in the seat in the 2015 general election.