Express & Star

Sandwell Council local election preview: Shocks unlikely in Labour borough

Voters head to the polls in Sandwell next week for the latest round of council elections.

Published
Sandwell Council House

Labour currently holds 67 out of 72 seats on the authority, with the four out of the five independent councillors being candidates from the red party when they were elected.

26 seats

There are 26 seats on the council up for election this year, 23 of which are held by Labour. The successful candidate in each ward will serve for the next four years.

Two seats are up for grabs in St Paul’s. Babu Bawa is up for re-election, and there will be a by-election in the seat vacated by Preet Gill, who has stood down to focus on her work as Labour MP for Edgbaston.

It is a similar situation in Greets Green and Lyng, where Gurcharan Sidhu’s resignation has prompted a by-election.

In both wards, people will cast two votes, with the two candidates with the most votes elected in each ward.

Changes

Some big names are on the way out.

Richard Marshall, who was suspended over allegations he made sexually-derogatory comments about fellow councillors, has quit in Smethwick.

And independent Labour councillor Mahboob Hussain, who was sanctioned for breaching the members code, is out in Oldbury.

Current mayor Ahmadul Haque, aged 86, who has represented Tipton Green for 22 years, was deselected by Labour.

He said: “I have had a very good time as a councillor and tried to serve the community as best I could.”

Mr Haque says he plans to continue working as a community activist in the ward.

Labour has chosen Yaseen Hussain to contest the seat in his place. In Wednesbury North, Tony Meehan, who was elected in 2014, is not standing this time.

Philip Garrett, who left UKIP last year and has since served as an independent, is standing down in Princes End.

Meanwhile, in Bristnall, Steven Frear has decided to draw the curtain on his 12-year stint as a councillor.

Mr Frear resigned the Labour party whip last August citing ‘destructive infighting’ as his reason.

Sandwell Council - full list of candidates

*Party holding seat

Abbey

Michael Allen (Green)

Richard Kemp (Cons)

Bob Piper (Lab)*

Blackheath

Bob Dunn (Cons)

Danny Millard (Lab)*

Aldo Mussi (Green)

Bristnall

Shirley Ching (Cons)

John Macefield (Green)

Rajbir Singh (Lab)

Charlemont and Grove Vale

Sam Harding (For Britain)

Graham Nock (UKIP)

Sue Phillips (Lab)*

Lee Williams (Cons)

Cradley Heath and Old Hill

Paul Connor (Green)

Robert Johns (Lib Dem)

Balhar Singh (Cons)

Julie Webb (Lab)*

Friar Park

Simon Hackett (Lab)*

Keith Lawley (Cons)

Colin Rankine (Yeshua)