After weeks of speculation, Cllr. Andy Kelly (Milnrow & Newhey) and Leader of Rochdale Liberal Democrats has confirmed that he will be challenging Andy Burnham for Mayor of Greater Manchester in May 2020.

"Mayor Burnham has not been held to account for three years. His flagship promises have failed and he is not in tune with the people of Greater Manchester," Andy says.

London is a liberal city. Over 250 languages are spoken in the capital, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. As host to one of the largest Pride events in Europe and the biggest carnival outside Rio, London and its residents celebrate diversity and embrace difference.

London is also a Remain city. It is home to a third of all the EU citizens living in the UK and every sector in the capital - from hoteliers to health-workers, builders to bankers - relies on EU migrants to thrive.

Congratulations to Jane Dodds and the Welsh Lib Dems for the brilliant result in Brecon and Radnorshire! Thank you to everyone of you who helped, both by appearing in the constituency to knock on doors and deliver leaflets, and for those who phoned, helped with admin tasks from a distance too. Jane is already showing that she will be an exceptional MP, joining Jo Swinson's parliamentary party.

In just eleven weeks, however, our country faces an immediate crisis: crashing out of the EU without any deal. The most cavalier and catastrophic of Brexits: putting at risk hundreds of thousands of jobs , public services including our NHS , and even our national security.

So in this moment of national emergency, I stand ready to work with anyone to stop Boris Johnson and his hard-line Brexit government.

After very careful thought, I have come to the conclusion that I can best serve the interests of my constituents by joining the Liberal Democrats.

Brexit has not only sucked all the political oxygen from government over the past three years, but it has also consumed the funding and energy that should have been invested in local communities, tackling climate change and supporting the workforce and infrastructure of our NHS, schools and transport.