London candidate beats Bristol mayor for MP seat

A London mayor has been chosen as Labour's candidate for a new Bristol parliamentary seat, beating the city's current mayor in the contest.

Local party members selected Damien Egan to be their candidate for Bristol North East at the next general election.

The 41-year-old grew up in the area before moving to London, where he is currently mayor of Lewisham.

He beat two other candidates, including current mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees.

South Gloucestershire councillor Leigh Ingham was also a candidate in the race.

The constituency of Bristol North East has still yet to be officially created.

In November, the Boundary Commission for England proposed the existing constituency of Kingswood should be split in two to create the new seat.

In June, final proposals for boundary changes were submitted to Parliament, and are set to be ratified later this year.

Postal votes to select the Labour Party candidate were open for members who lived within the area of the new seat.

Speaking after his win, Mr Egan said: "I'm honoured to have won the support of Labour members in Bristol North East.

"This is where I'm from and I can't wait to meet everyone, hear what issues matter most and make a real difference."

Responding to his loss, Mr Rees said he was "looking forward" to campaigning for Mr Egan over the coming months, to "help win the seat and deliver a Labour government".

Mr Rees will continue in his role as mayor until 2024. After this, the role will be abolished, following a vote to scrap the post in May 2022.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]