Second Lambeth Labour Councillor confirmed as General Election candidate with Cllr Marianna Masters having political ambitions elsewhere

Another Lambeth Labour Councillor has ambitions outside of the borough having been selected as the Labour candidate for St Neots and Mid-Cambridgeshire at the next General Election.

Cllr Marianna Masters, one of the current two Labour Councillors for Streatham Wells, is looking towards the Tory seat to fulfil her political careerist ambitions.

The neighbouring Streatham Common and Vale ward recently saw a similar situation. Cllr Tom Rutland fancied his chances of being the next MP for East Worthing and Shoreham.

After months of ignoring requests from his residents to stand down in Lambeth, Rutland finally resigned as a Lambeth Councillor in March of this year.

The by-election that followed earlier this month saw Labour retain the seat. Cllr Sarah Cole received 2,269 votes. The nearest challenger was LibDem Nicolas Davidson with 596 votes.

Rutland set a precedent when it comes to political ambitions. After missing Lambeth surgeries and being AWOL in the borough, he finally did the right thing by his residents.

Some suspect that he was hopeful of a May General Election and could hang on in Lambeth and hedge his bets.

With the next General Election now expected to be five months away, it will be interesting to see if Cllr Masters follows the example set by her party colleague.

Streatham Wells is a two Member ward. Cllr Masters is joined alongside her Labour party colleague, Cllr Malcom Clark.

Representing the ward as a lone Councillor for the next five months will be a tough ask on Cllr Clark if his colleague is out campaigning elsewhere.