Sandwell Council elections: Full list of candidates standing in this year's poll

The last time this set of seats were contested in 2019 it was a clean sweep for Labour, but in recent election cycles a Conservative opposition has emerged.

Under leader Kerrie Carmichael, Labour currently holds 57 of the 72 seats, ahead of the Conservatives on 10.

This time around both major parties are fielding candidates in all 24 wards, although in the Labour ranks plenty of familiar faces will not be standing.

They include veteran Langley councillor Yvonne Davies, who led the authority in 2019 before quitting Labour and serving out her term as an independent.

Ahmad Bostan, who resigned from Labour in November, is also out, as is Great Bridge councillor Peter Allen and cabinet member Zahoor Ahmed.

Stephen Jones was deselected in Princes End while his mother Olwen has stood down in Wednesbury South after 14 years.

In Cradley Heath and Old Hill former councillor John Tipper is bidding to succeed Ann Shackleton, who died in November aged 78.

The Conservatives, under group leader David Fisher, can't lose any seats, and despite their party's struggles nationally will be hoping to make a gain or two.

Target seats include Princes End, Great Bridge – where the Tories narrowly lost a seat to Labour last year – and Charlemont with Grove Vale.

The Lib Dems are fielding 13 candidates, including current mayor Richard Jones, who is standing in Old Warley after quitting Labour last week following deselection. His partner Richard McVittie, who made the same move, is not standing at these elections.

The Green Party has candidates in 16 wards, while there are nine Reform UK candidates, five from the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition and two independents.

If there was an award for persistence then it would surely to go to Colin Rankine of Yeshua, who has stood in four consecutive elections in Friar Park but is yet to get more than 76 votes.

For the first time at these elections voters will need to show photo ID at polling stations under new Electoral Commission rules.

Anyone who doesn’t have accepted photo ID – which includes a passport, photo driving licence, blue badge and some bus passes – can apply for a free photo ID online.

Sandwell’s Returning Officer, Shokat Lal, said: "Voters who don’t have any accepted photographic ID have until 5pm on April 25 to get their free Voter Authority Certificate to vote at a polling station in the local elections.

"That means there’s just over six weeks left – so please be prepared and make sure you have the photo ID you need if you plan to vote at a polling station."

Current state of play: Labour controlled administration – Lab 57; Cons 10; Lib Dem 2; Sandwell Together 1; Indep 1; Vacant 1

Seats up for grabs: 24

*denotes party that won in 2019, when these seats were last contested.

Abbey

Jennifer Hemingway (Lab)*

Roderick Macrorie (Green)

Lawrence Ngorand (Lib Dem)

Soran Rauf (Cons)

Bob Severn (TUSC)

Blackheath

Greg Allman (Cons)

Deryn Guest (Green)

Muhammad Khan (Lib Dem)

Jag Singh (Lab)*

Bristnall

Pete Durnell (Reform)

Clive Heywood (Lib Dem)

Paul Hinton (Green)

Tom Johnston (Lab)*

Mo Sakhi (Cons)

Charlemont with Grove Vale

Elizabeth Giles (Lab)*

Owen Lees (TUSC)

Graham Nock (Reform)

Sadie Smith (Lib Dem)

Natalie Weston (Cons)

Cradley Heath and Old Hill

Nick Bradley (Lib Dem)

Paul Connor (Green)

Narinder Garcha (Cons)

John Tipper (Lab)*

Friar Park

Fajli Bibi (Cons)

Terry Fitzgerald (Lab)*

Aldo Mussi (Green)

Colin Rankine (Yeshua)

Robert White (Reform)

Great Barr with Yew Tree

Kay Allcock (Lab)*

Gurmail Kaur (Cons)

Mark Smith (Lib Dem)

Geoff Sutton (Reform)

Great Bridge

Sahdaish Kaur Pall (Lab)*

Connor Marshall (Cons)

Awais Qaisar (Green)

Greets Green and Lyng

Bryony Morris (Green)

Bethany Sears (Cons)

Jackie Taylor (Lab)*

Hateley Heath

Kay Millar (Lab)*

Jackie Nock (Reform)

Nathan Poole (Cons)

Langley

Ejaz Ahmed (Lib Dem)

Dean Millard (Cons)

Gillian Tromans (Lab)*

Newton

Sajad Ashraf (Lab)*

Jeremy Parker (Green)

Shola Sapara (Cons)

Guriqbal Singh (Lib Dem)

Old Warley

Richard Jones (Lib Dem)

Chipiliro Kalebe-Nyamongo (Lab)*

Karl Leech (Reform)

Paul Smith (Cons)

Oldbury

Richard Gingell (TUSC)

Suzanne Hartwell (Lab)*

Paresh Patel (Green)

Abdul Qayyum (Cons)

Princes End

Chris Clemson (Reform)

Sohail Iqbal (Lab)*

Justyna Kordala Cons)

Joseph Loudon (Green)

Rowley

Steve Hill (Cons)

David Hulme (Indep)

Khayam Khan (Lab)*

Wikas Khan (Lib Dem)

Rudi Sullivan (Green)

Smethwick

Luke Davies (Lab)*

Gita Joshi (Green)

Imran Qureshi (Cons)

Soho and Victoria

Jomir Ali (Cons)

Ragih Muflihi (Lab)*

Jeremy Rendell (Green)

St Paul's

Mona Khurana (Cons)

Muhammad Loan (Lab)*

Keith Wilmot (Lib Dem)

Tipton Green

Richard Jeffcoat (Indep)

Syeda Khatun (Lab)*

Kam Longani (Cons)

Tividale

Bhupinder Kullar (Cons)

Jujhar Singh (Green)

Wakas Younis (Lab)*

Wednesbury North

Steve Dabbs (Reform)

Gareth Knox (TUSC)

Nik Luzaic (Cons)

Nicola Maycock (Lab)*

Mark Redding (Green)

Wednesbury South

Manjit Lall (Lib Dem)

U'Semu Makaya (TUSC)

Jack Sabharwal (Reform)

Steve Simcox (Cons)

Kulwant Uppal (Lab)*

West Bromwich Central

Sarah Deans (Green)

Tirath Dhatt Lab)*

Michael Jones (Cons)

Bob Smith (Lib Dem)

Key:

TUSC – Trade Union and Socialist Coalition

Indep – Independent