Birmingham MP Liam Byrne is to announce he wants to be West Midlands mayor.

He will apply to be Labour’s candidate in next year's mayoral election.

If he’s successful it will mean he takes on Conservative Andy Street, the sitting mayor who intends to stand again.

But first, he needs to convince Labour activists across the West Midlands to pick him as their candidate.

Mr Byrne (Lab Hodge Hill) is scheduled to appear on BBC One’s Sunday Politics Midlands show today.

Rival candidates for the Labour nomination include Lynda Waltho, the former Stourbridge MP.

Pete Lowe, a Dudley Councillor, is also said to be considering standing.

The battle to win the Labour nomination could be almost as fierce as the mayoral election itself.

Coun Lowe is seen as the potential “Corbynite” candidate and could gain the support of Momentum, the Labour campaign group which backs party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Liam Byrne said there was no place for Donald Trump in Birmingham.
Liam Byrne

Earlier this year, Labour activists in the North East chose Corbyn-backing councillor Jamie Driscoll as their candidate for the post of North of Tyne Mayor - and rejected a bid from “moderate” Nick Forbes, the leader of Newcastle City Council, who had been seen as the favourite to win the nomination.

Mr Byrne comes from the centre of the party and has in the past been regarded as a “Blairite”, but he currently serves on Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench as Labour’s Shadow Digital Minister and has stayed out of the party’s recent internal battles.

The MP, aged 48, was a Minister in governments led by Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, and served as a shadow minister when Ed Miliband was Labour leader.

His previous roles include serving as Minister for the West Midlands.

Ms Waltho may pick up support from activists who would prefer a female candidate. Across the country, every elected regional mayor so far has been a man.

Conservative West Midlands Mayor Andy Street will stand again
Conservative West Midlands Mayor Andy Street will stand again

Labour MEP Neena Gill had told friends she intended to stand, but has now withdrawn from the contest.

Labour has not yet set out a timetable for choosing a candidate, but is expected to complete the process over the summer. The election, pitting Mr Street against Labour’s chosen candidate as well as representatives of other parties, takes place in May 2020.

Conservatives won a narrow victory in 2017, when a West Midlands mayor was elected for the first time. Mr Street won 50.4% of the vote while his Labour opponent won 49.6%.