Liberal Democrats select Lorna Dupré as Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral candidate

County and district councillor Lorna Dupré has been selected as the Liberal Democrats’ candidate for next year’s Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election.

Cllr Dupré, who lives in Sutton near Ely, wants a “greener, fairer, and better connected” Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

She said: “This is a key election which will shape the future of our area for many years to come. I want Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to be greener, fairer, and better connected. A thriving area with opportunities for all. More caring, more sustainable, and optimistic about the future.

“A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for better public transport, access to new skills for the changing world of work, and cooperation at every level to meet the urgent challenges of a changing climate.”

The selection was announced at a gathering of councillors and campaigners - including Lib Dem MPs Pippa Heylings, Ian Sollom and Charlotte Cane, from across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough on Saturday night (25 January).

Cllr Dupré will be taking on Conservative candidate Paul Bristow and Labour’s incumbent mayor Dr Nik Johnson at the 1 May election.

Cllr Dupré is leader of the Liberal Democrat and Independent group on East Cambridgeshire District Council and is also deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on Cambridgeshire County Council - and chair of the authority’s environment and green investment committee.

She continued: “There is a desperate need for genuinely affordable homes in the right places, and a Liberal Democrat mayor using new powers handed down from government can make that happen.

“We also need a mayor who will work in partnership with the NHS, firefighters, and the police, for a healthier and safer Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

“As chair of the Combined Authority’s overview and scrutiny committee for four years, I was responsible for holding both of our previous mayors to account, and have seen the mayoralty first hand. We need better than what we’ve had over the last eight years.

“I’m well placed to work with the area’s three Liberal Democrat MPs, and the Liberal Democrats as a growing force across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s local councils, to achieve the change we need.”