Labour's Oliver Coppard elected as new Mayor of South Yorkshire

Labour's Oliver Coppard has been elected as the new Mayor of South Yorkshire after the vote went to second round preferences.

Mr Coppard succeeds the previous Labour incumbent and Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis, who chose to stand down at the end of his term.

He defeated the Conservative candidate Clive Watkinson by 143,476 votes to 57,347 after second preference votes were counted.

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.

Mr Coppard is relatively unknown, having never served as an MP or a local councillor, but promised a "new generation" of leadership in South Yorkshire.

The closest he came to holding elected office was when he challenged the then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the 2015 General Election in Sheffield Hallam, finishing second.

In his acceptance speech, he said: "I would like to thank the people of Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield who have lent me their trust, their faith, their confidence and their votes.

"Whether you did vote for me or if you could not offer your support for me this time, whether you were first in line at the polling station or whether you think politics has left you behind...no matter where you are in South Yorkshire: I am your friend, your champion, your ally, I may not be able to solve every problem but I will work every day to be your mayor."

He told ITV News that his first priority would be to stand up for the region and he will be making sure that the government has the same ambition to improve South Yorkshire.