Labour releases shortlist of four in South Yorkshire mayoral selection race

Labour has released its shortlist of potential candidates in the South Yorkshire mayoral selection contest, following the close of the nominations period and interviews being conducted by a party panel.

The longlist of seven has been cut down to a narrower field of four. With Mazher Iqbal of Sheffield South East, Dominic Jones of Barnsley Central and Jake Kearsley of Doncaster Central out of the race, the following remain:

• Rachael Blake, Don Valley CLP
• Lewis Blake Dagnall, Sheffield Central CLP
• Oliver Coppard, Sheffield Central CLP
• Jayne Dunn, Sheffield Central CLP

Local members will vote for their preferred candidate between January 5th and 26th, after which the final result will be revealed. Sheffield Labour News has provided a useful guide to the nominations cast and the key issues in the race.

Dan Jarvis, the current South Yorkshire mayor, announced in September that he would continue to serve as the MP for Barnsley Central but would not be contesting the next mayoral election in May 2022.

The mayoral role started out as an unpaid, powerless position but a devolution deal was struck by Jarvis between the boroughs, combined authority and government, and the post has now gained a salary and statutory powers.

As Labour’s candidate in the 2018 inaugural election, Jarvis won a total of 122,635 votes compared to 37,738 for Ian Walker of the Conservatives. Jarvis secured 47.1% of votes on the first round and 74% on the second.