Nottingham City Council's former deputy leader says she is "disappointed" after finding out she will not be Labour's candidate for East Midlands Mayor. Parties are in the process of choosing who will stand for them at the first election for the new role, due to be held next May.
The Labour Party has now drawn up a 'longlist' of candidates after five people put their names forward. Four of those people have made it to the next stage, but Councillor Adele Williams has not.
Councillor Williams, who now serves as a backbench Nottingham city councillor, said: "Disappointed not to have been longlisted so members could vote on this policy platform. Hope other candidates work with you to build for [the] sustainable wealth creation we all have a share in.
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"We need a Labour Mayor with policy built right here. Thanks to ASLEF in Nottingham, our Notts Area NUM and Labour members who have wanted to get involved and support. Especially to my Labour movement friends who have put their time and considerable skills to work in this campaign."
Some Labour members tweeted their disagreement with Councillor Williams not making it to the next stage, with Labour county councillor Penny Gowland saying: "Well it's not going to be a very long list. This is crazy."
The four people who Labour members will now choose between are former Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping, former BBC journalist John Hess and Chair of the Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, Claire Ward. Suqie Banwait, a Labour member from Derbyshire who has stood in several elections there, is also on the longlist. Labour parties in each constituency now have two weeks to make their nominations, with trade unions also due to start publishing their endorsements soon.
An agreement was signed last August between the Government and the leaders of Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council. The agreement will see a new East Midlands Combined County Authority (CCA) being set up, which will have special powers in areas such as transport and housing.
The East Midlands CCA will contain members from each of the four signatory councils and will be headed up by a new East Midlands Mayor. The selection process for those wishing to stand as the Conservative mayoral candidate will open in July.
The party was previously due to have picked a candidate by September, but Nottinghamshire County Council Leader Ben Bradley said he would be "frustrated" if they couldn't follow Labour's timeline. Councillor Bradley has not yet confirmed whether he will run himself.
The Liberal Democrats have confirmed they will be putting a candidate up for East Midlands Mayor, with their selection process having already started. The Green Party may also put a candidate up, with a regional meeting this weekend due to discuss the role.
