Two south-east London Labour councillors will vie for new seats in City Hall after emerging victorious from party selections.

Bexley Council’s Stefano Borella will campaign in the London Assembly constituency of Bexley and Bromley, while Bromley’s Marina Ahmad will contest Lambeth and Southwark, it was announced on Thursday.

It came after the pair won party selection voting for their respective constituencies.

Cllr Ahmad, a member for Bromley’s Crystal Palace ward, topped an all black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) shortlist which included Wandsworth councillor Maurice McLeod, Taranjit Chana, and Shahina Jaffer.

Lambeth and Southwark had previously been represented by Florence Eshalomi, who announced she would step down from the role after she was elected as MP for Vauxhall in last year’s general election.

The tilt for a seat on the London Assembly is not Cllr Ahmad’s first attempt to climb up the political ranks.

She contested the 2015, 2017 and 2019 general elections as Labour’s candidate for Beckenham, losing out to current MP Bob Stewart all three times.

However, given Labour’s success historic success in Lambeth and Southwark –  outgoing member Florence Eshalomi received 51.6 per cent of the vote at the last election in 2016 – she will be a heavy favourite to retain the seat for the party.

To the south, Cllr Borella will attempt to wrest Bromley and Bexley from the Conservative’s grip.

The seat has been held by Cllr Borella’s fellow Bexley councillor Gareth Bacon since 2016.

However, the Tory member has announced he will relinquish both his Bexley and London Assembly roles following his election as the MP for Orpington last year.

The constituency has been held by the Conservatives since the creation of the London Assembly in 2000.

Cllr Borella, too, has experience campaigning on the big stage, after contesting Bexleyheath and Crayford for Labour in the 2015 and 2017 general elections.

His selection came after he outpolled Southwark councillor Sunny Lambe in party voting.

The upcoming London Assembly elections are set to be held on May 7.

London residents will be tasked with electing 25 members to the assembly, whose main task is to scrutinise the actions and spending of the Mayor of London.

The race for Mayor will be the most watched part of the election, with Labour incumbent Sadiq Khan looking to hold the position following his election in 2016.

Shaun Bailey (Conservatives), Rory Stewart (Independent),Siobhan Benita (Liberal Democrats) and Sian Berry (Greens) will also contest the top job.