Who will be the mayor of East Anglia? Andrew Lansley is the bookmakers’ favourite
Who could be the first mayor of East Anglia? - Credit: Archant
Since devolution plans for East Anglia were announced in George Osborne's budget on Wednesday, discussion has been rife about who may become the first mayor of East Anglia.
The chosen person, elected by constituents, would oversee Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridge and would be given a budget of £900m to spend over 30 years. They could be in the job as early as next year.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes have already opened a ticket on the position but who are they backing?
•Andrew Lansley (3/1): The former Leader of the House of Commons and ex-South Cambridgeshire MP is seen as the current favourite. He has been an advocate of the devolution plans in the media and may be attracted to the role after stepping down as an MP before last year's election.
•George Freeman (8/1): The current MP for Mid Norfolk and Minister for Life Sciences, the Conservative politician has spoken about being heavily involved in the devolution plans and said on Twitter 'it should be an amazing job for someone.' Other current MPs in the mix include Ben Gummer (Ipswich) (10/1) and Chloe Smith (Norwich North) (16/1).
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•Colin Noble (10/1): The frontrunner from a council background, the Suffolk County Council leader's ward of Lakenheath puts him on the border of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
•Ed Balls (16/1): The former Shadow Chancellor moved away from politics after losing his seat in the last election, and is now the chairman of Norwich City. With the Canaries' current form he may be a bit too preoccupied to look for an exit from Carrow Road.
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•Outsiders: Away from the political figures, Delia Smith is a 20/1 bet while Norfolk's Stephen Fry has longer odds at 50/1. Cambridge University professor Stephen Hawking sits at 66/1 and if you want to get the pedestrianisation of Norwich City centre finally sorted out, Alan Partridge may be your man at 100/1.
Former Norwich South MP Charles Clarke has odds of 12/1 with Ladbrokes but ruled himself out of the running yesterday stating he will not be taking on the role.
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