Five people are still in the running to be the next Labour parliamentary candidate for Ipswich after the local party drew up its "long-list" of nominees.

That includes a former mayor of Ipswich, a former MEP for the Eastern Region and a former county councillor - and two people from outside the area who have built up a strong profile in Labour politics.

Those in the running are:

Jack Abbott: Former county councillor for the Bridge Division in Ipswich who challenged Dr Dan Poulter in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich in 2015 General Election.

Jatinder Hayre: A trainee GP and freelance writer who specialises in health policy, he is also a national spokesman for the "Keep our NHS Public" campaign.

Elizabeth Hughes: Last year's Ipswich mayor, she stood in the 2017 and 2019 general elections in Central Suffolk and South Suffolk respectively - and was Labour's challenger to Suffolk PCC Tim Passmore in last year's election.

Alex Mayer: Labour MEP for the East of England until 2019 after taking over when Richard Howitt left the post. She has remained active in Labour politics in the region since then.

Nik Slingsby: A London-based lawyer who has been active in the Labour Party for many years. In 2015 he fought the City of Westminster seat in the General Election.

The long list will be reduced to a shortlist of three or four candidates on June 24 and they will go through to a selection hustings on July 10 after which a candidate will be selected.

The Labour candidate will then expect to challenge Conservative Tom Hunt for the seat at the next general election.

In 2019 the Tories had a majority of nearly 5,500, the largest the party has had in the constituency since the Second World War.