THE Labour Party in Crewe are making preparations for a Cheshire East Council by-election which has been delayed because of the pandemic.

The Crewe West ward vote was to have taken place in April after the seat fell vacant following the death of Labour councillor Brian Roberts earlier this year.

Now Labour have chosen local campaigner Connor Naismith as their candidate with the by-election expected to take place next May.

Mr Naismith, an outreach officer for the newly formed Cheshire East Food Poverty Taskforce, volunteered to support vulnerable people with food shopping at the start of the pandemic.

He said: "it is an honour and a privilege to have been entrusted with fighting this election for Labour. For too long Crewe has been held back by Westminster government and the political mismanagement of previous administrations at Cheshire East.

"We need more than words now. We need action to deliver on the promise of our town's regeneration.

"The pandemic means this election will be fought differently than those that have gone before, but I will do everything in my power to speak to as many of you as possible in the coming months."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has learned that the borough's Conservative party will select its candidate towards Christmas, with group leader, Cllr Janet Clowes, saying "there are a couple of good ones in the running" for the seat.

Cllr Craig Browne, leader of the Independent group, added: "Our group does not really work in that way [of pre-selecting a candidate]. If somebody stood and was successful as an independent, they would probably be invited to join."

• Cllr Roberts' passing also means there is a by-election due to fill a vacancy on Crewe Town Council.