I'm the only Labour councillor in the borough - party's only election winner in Walsall shares her thoughts

They say every cloud has a silver lining, that one could view a glass has being half full, or half empty. In which case, maybe Councillor Simran Cheema should view Labour’s drubbing at this month’s local elections as an opportunity to become group leader.

“I feel it is quite lonely on the council at the moment,” she says with a wry smile. “I guess it means I’ll have to argue with myself.”

Back in the 1990s, the Conservative group on Sandwell council jokingly held a meeting in a telephone box after being reduced to two members. On May 7, Labour in Walsall went one worse, being reduced to just a single member - Councillor Cheema. As Reform’s sweeping gains in the borough’s all-out elections brought dozens of long-serving political careers to an end, 28-year-old Councillor Cheema managed to hold onto her seat.

“I think it was just because I’d been representing the ward for four years in my hometown, where I’m from, and I think that really played a part in being a single Labour councillor, able to get through.”

The council’s Labour group had not been without its own problems going into the election, suffering the indignity of being ousted as the council’s principle opposition group just four weeks before the borough went to the polls. Some opinion polls had actually foreseen Walsall Labour group being reduced to one - or even zero - councillors in the run-up to the election on May 7, but Councillor Cheema remained hopeful right up until the night after the election.

“I looked at the polls prior to the election, but Walsall tends to have a habit of bucking the trend, so the optimist in me was hoping that we would buck the trend,” she says.

“But our count results were the Friday morning, and we had the results in Dudley that came in overnight, and they weren’t too good for the Labour Party.

“So based on that, and the turnout we’ve had, we did know that it was going to be a difficult day for us.”

It was also a difficult day for the Conservatives, with party stalwarts such as leader Mike Bird losing his seat after 46 years on the council, and ex-mayor Keith Sears - who died this month (May) - losing his after 51 years.

“I was really sad to be honest, because my colleagues have worked so hard, not just in Walsall, but across the country.

“You know there’s a lot of work that goes into being a local councillor, giving up your own time to serve residents in the community, and it was really sad to see. Not even just Labour councillors, but Conservative councillors and councillors from other parties that are working hard in their communities, but hadn’t made it across the line.”

While Councillor Cheema had been braced for a bruising set of results, she admits that the scale of Labour’s defeat had been something of a shock. She believes it was more a case of voters wanting to punish the Labour government rather that delivering their verdict of Labour in Walsall.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” she says.

“Basically, what was being pushed out locally was a lot of national messaging, Reform parroting ‘get Starmer out’, I don’t see how that would benefit local residents. I was hoping people would see through the national messaging, and look at what’s happening locally, but I guess a lot of people use it as a protest vote towards current events.”

She said that despite her new-found solitude in the council chamber, she is determined to hold the new Reform administration to account, and provide a vocal opposition.

“I’ll be flying the Labour flag and being a voice of scrutiny in opposition to the current administration,” she says. “It is really hard, but we’re hoping to rebuild and come back stronger next year.”

While she rules out any pacts with other opposition groups or parties, she accepts that there may sometimes be a case for co-operation a case-by-case basis.

“It will be each on its independent merit, depending on what I decide to oppose in each individual case, or whatever the policy is. There’s no sort of pact or anything, I’m literally the sole Labour councillor being a force of opposition.”

Does she feel that local councillors have been in any way let down by the Labour Party nationally, and specifically the performance of the Government that voters put their trust in less than two years ago?

“I think we just more let down that we’re not doing a good enough job nationally, and that’s having a domino effect locally,” she says.

“Even though local elections are about what happens in your community, they looked at what’s happening nationally, and I think it’s because they want change further and faster.

“There’s a lot of shenanigans that are going on, but I hope that they just get on with the job they were given at the 2024 General Election and deliver the change that people are asking for.”

And Councillor Cheema insists that the Labour government has achieved a lot over the past 22 months, even if its attempts to win the hearts and minds of the public leave something to be desired.

“I think they are doing a lot of good stuff, I just don’t think that the message is cutting through,” she says.

“But I think they need also to look at this set of local elections and see what’s been going wrong and how they can rebuild the trust back of the British people.

“I believe that in terms of the manifesto that was pledged at 2024, he has been delivering on those pledges, but I just don’t think that the change has been going as far or fast enough, a lot of people are struggling.

“I think he’s doing a good job, but I don’t think that the message is coming through.”

The weeks since Labour’s election debacle have been dominated by ex ministers Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham openly jockeying for a leadership vacancy that does not yet exist. While Councillor Cheema hopes Mr Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election, she is unimpressed by the public display of infighting.

“I think that you don’t wave your dirty laundry in public, I don’t think it’s helpful,” she says.

“I think what this country needs, given that wars are going on across the world as well, is stability. Andy is standing in Makerfield, and I hope he wins the by-election, but at this moment in time there isn’t a leadership contest, and the Prime Minster’s getting on with the job he’s been elected to do.”

But if there were, hypothetically speaking, a leadership contest at some stage in the near future, would she be backing the incumbent, or voting for one of the challengers?

“I would have to weigh up my options and see what any of the potential candidates are offering first.”