South Yorkshire mayoral election 2022: Meet the candidates looking for your vote

Voters in South Yorkshire will head to the polls on Thursday 5 May to choose who they want to be their next mayor.

Whoever is elected will play a major role in the political life of the area. The mayor has a wide-ranging role representing the 1.4 million residents of South Yorkshire.

They act as an ambassador, promoting it as a place to live, work, visit and invest in.

The mayor is a member and chair of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and a member of the South Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership. They are tasked with helping to develop and grow South Yorkshire’s economy.

The mayor has specific responsibilities for transport, housing and planning and holds finance powers. They also bring together organisations to ensure investments are spent in a way that makes a real difference to the people of South Yorkshire.

There are six candidates vying for election this year and ITV Calendar's Political Correspondent, Harry Horton, has been speaking to them:

David Bettney served in the British Army and is the Social Democratic Party candidate. For the past 12 years he's worked in the commercial sector in Yorkshire and the Middle East.

The Yorkshire Party candidate is Barnsley businessman Simon Biltcliffe. He's also chair of Barnsley FC’s Reds in the Community group.

Charity Worker Oliver Coppard is the Labour Party candidate. He stood as the Sheffield Hallam Labour candidate against Nick Clegg in the 2015 general election.

The Liberal Democrat candidate is Joe Otten. He is a former software developer and has been a councillor on Sheffield City Council for 11 years.

Clive Watkinson is a Barnsley businessman and is the Conservative candidate. He's a director of Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce.

The Green Party candidate is senior analyst Bex Whyman. Bex has previously stood in a council election in Rotherham in 2017.