Oliver Coppard: the relative unknown elected to be Mayor of South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire has elected a new Metro Mayor after the incumbent Dan Jarvis decided to step down at the end of his four-year term.
Labour's Oliver Coppard was announced as the winner this afternoon after securing 71.4% of the vote after second round preferences were counted.
He emerged successful from a list of six candidates.
Who is Oliver Coppard?
Mr Coppard is relatively unknown, having never served as an MP or a local councillor, but he has 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.
Mr Coppard grew up in South Yorkshire in the 1980s and says on his website that he has spent much of his life trying to make the region a better place to live and work.
He has worked with young people in Barnsley and has led low carbon regeneration projects in the Dearne Valley.
Speaking to ITV News before the election he said: "We need public control of our public transport, our buses in particular. I don't think anyone anymore argue that our public transport is fit for purpose."
He said that he would make it a priority to get funding from the government to make this happen.
When asked if he would be an Andy Burnham-style mayor or a lower profile mayor, like Dan Jarvis, he said: "I'm Oliver Coppard, I'm going to do it my way.
"It's about standing up for communities and looking at the other mayors and taking lessons where I can, but I'm going to do that in my own way.
"I've said from the start I'm going to do politics in my own way and we need a new generation of leadership in South Yorkshire."
What powers does the mayor have?
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.
They have 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.