Sandwell Council's Labour group elects new leader unopposed

At a meeting on Monday night Kerrie Carmichael was elected to head up the group after standing unopposed for the position.

She will officially become Sandwell Council leader at the next full council meeting on December 7.

Councillor Maria Crompton will serve as deputy leader.

It comes after Rajbir Singh quit due to personal circumstances. He has also resigned as a councillor.

Councillor Carmichael has represented Blackheath for nine years and was promoted to the role of cabinet member for neighbourhoods and communities by Mr Singh in September, having lost out to him in the last leadership election.

She will become the troubled authority's sixth leader in three years.

Steve Eling quit in February 2019 ahead of a no confidence vote after he was suspended by the Labour Party under mysterious circumstances.

He was succeeded by Steve Trow, who resigned after the local elections in May 2019 after serving just two months. He then stepped down as a councillor for Old Warley in August 2020.

Councillor Yvonne Davies was next in the hot seat, serving for 14 months before stepping down in July 2020 after she was suspended by Labour after a row over social media posts.

She has since quit the party and now serves as an independent.

Tividale councillor Maria Crompton then stepped in to serve the first of two stints as interim leader, which were interrupted by Mr Singh's turbulent six month reign.

Meanwhile the council is still searching for a new chief executive to replace Kim Bromley-Derry, who has held the position on an interim basis since David Stevens' shock departure in August.