The leaders now running Cambridgeshire's councils

Two weeks after the local elections, councils across Cambridgeshire have been holding their annual meetings.

Leaders are formally selected and other important positions are allocated.

Four councils in the area had elections this year, with a new cohort of councillors starting in the role.

Three of those councils, Cambridge, Peterborough and Huntingdonshire, are in no overall control. That means no one party has enough councillors to run things on their own.

Labour has run the city council for over a decade. However, following the elections it was reduced to 17 out of a possible 42 seats.

A heated annual meeting took place on Thursday, where only the Labour group leader Katie Thornburrow was nominated to head the council. But opposition Greens and Liberal Democrats voted it down.

After a few more hours of discussion another vote took place, again with only Thornburrow nominated as leader. Again the opposition voted it down.

It was agreed that the meeting should be adjourned until 1 June to allow more time for discussions between the groups.

The meeting heard that the council had to have a leader in place by 2 June, otherwise the authority will not be able to hold decision-making meetings.

They did manage to elect a new mayor for the forthcoming year. The position was won by new councillor Maria Cleminson.

She is also the first mayor from the Green party. The role of mayor is a ceremonial one, but they also chair council meetings and have the casting vote if decisions are tied.

Whilst Cambridge City was holding discussions on Thursday afternoon, a much shorter meeting was taking place at the same time in neighbouring South Cambridgeshire.

Liberal Democrat leader Bridget Smith, whose party secured 43 out of the 45 seats available, was re-elected as leader.

Much of her cabinet remains the same. She described them as "a dedicated team focused on a fairer, kinder and greener South Cambridgeshire".

Labour leader Shabina Qayyum was chosen to carry on in the position of council leader in Peterborough.

Despite losing seats in the election, Labour is working with the Liberal Democrats and the local group Peterborough First. Its councillor Neil Boyce will serve as deputy leader.

The cabinet contains many people who served before the election.

This year's mayor is Chris Harper, the group leader of Peterborough First.

Like in Cambridge, the mayor's position is a ceremonial one. However, unlike Cambridge, the city choose their longest serving councillor who has not held the position before.

A coalition of Liberal Democrats, Independents and Greens are in control at Huntingdonshire District Council.

The Liberal Democrat leader Sarah Conboy was re-elected as executive leader. Their coalition is made up of 26 members out of 52 on the council.

It means every vote could be tight, with the chair's casting vote potentially being used. That position was won by Green party member Stephen Ferguson.

The party has 15 Conservatives, 10 Reform UK members and one Labour councillor in opposition.

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