A councillor in Medway has been selected to contest a parliamentary seat more than 100 miles away.

Cllr Damola Animashaun (Lab), one of three members representing Chatham Central and Brompton ward on Medway Council, has been picked as the Labour candidate for Tewkesbury at the next general election.

The Gloucestershire constituency is currently held by Tory Laurence Robertson, who has been its MP since it was created in 1997.

At the 2019 election, Mr Robertson was returned with a 22,000-strong majority, but according to pollster Electoral Calculus there’s a 65% chance Labour will take it next time around.

Cllr Animashaun was elected to Medway Council in May last year along with ward colleagues leader Vince Maple (Lab) and Mayor of Medway Cllr Nina Gurung (Lab).

She is a member of the council's Children and Young People and Business Support and Digital overview and scrutiny committees, as well as the Employment Matters committee.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Cllr Animashaun said: "It is a great privilege to have been selected as a parliamentary candidate for Tewkesbury.

"Only a Labour government can provide the change people in the UK desperately need, after 14 years of destruction under the Conservative government."

Contrary to common belief, there is no obligation for a candidate to live in the constituency they run for and the same is the case when standing for local elections.

Cllr Animashaun was asked if she would step down from Medway Council if she were to be successful in Tewkesbury, which is 122 miles away as the crow flies, but she did not respond in time for publication.

The Labour Party is yet to select its candidate for the Chatham and Aylesford seat, currently held by Tracey Crouch (Con) MP, who announced she would be stepping down at the next election.

Cllr Tristan Osborne, Labour’s portfolio holder for community safety and enforcement on Medway Council, has previously said he would be putting his name forward for the role.

Speaking last August, he said: “Nobody thought Labour would win the seat in 1997, but they did. And I think it could happen again.”