Watford’s Elected Mayor has been selected as the Liberal Democrat spokesman for Communities and Local Government in Tim Farron’s first shadow cabinet.

Mayor Dorothy Thornhill was announced as the spokesman for Communities and Local Government in Tim Farron’s shadow cabinet on Wednesday, July 29.

The Mayor will speak on behalf of the party on issues including development and cuts to councils across the UK.

There was no place in the shadow cabinet for former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.

When Tim Farron announced his new team, he said in a statement on the Liberal Democrat website, the shadow cabinet “features some of the best campaigners the party has” and insisted it is “balanced with the experience and economic credibility that our party has developed over the last five years in government.”

He added: “It was important to me to be able to call on the advice and experience of people at all levels of our party and I believe we have an excellent team to lead the Lib Dem fight back.

“Together, we will take our ideas, our values and our liberal messages to every corner of Britain. We will make the case for housing, immigration, Europe, environmentalism and human rights.”