Labour’s Claire Ward elected first mayor of East Midlands

Claire Ward won the mayoralty in what one Labour source described as ‘the beating heart of the general election battleground’. Photograph: Jacob King/PA

Labour’s Claire Ward has been elected the first mayor of the East Midlands, beating the Conservative Ben Bradley by more than 50,000 votes.

Ward, a former Labour MP for Watford, said she was “humbled” to have been elected into the role, and that voters had not only endorsed her but also “a changed Labour party that can now confidently and with conviction say we are ready to lead”.