West Midlands Mayoral Elections: Full list of candidates standing
On 4 May 2017 people in the West Midlands will be able to vote in the first ever election for a West Midlands Mayor.
The Mayor will chair the West Midlands Combined Authority which covers Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
They will be left with the final say on transport, housing, planning, skills and training and business growth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meet the candidates:
James Burn - Green Candidate - West Midlands Mayoral Elections 2017
James Burn has lived in the West Midlands for more than 15 years and is currently an elected councillor for Chelmsley Wood in Solihull and Leader of the Opposition on Solihull Council. He is a qualified social worker and runs his own small business.
Read more about his priorities: http://www.jamesburn.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete Durnell - UKIP Candidate - West Midlands Mayoral Elections 2017
Pete Durnell was born in Bromsgrove and went to school in Kidderminster. His most recent job was with Accenture, as a Technical Consultant and he was Chairman of UKIP Sandwell branch in 2016. In May 2016, he was UKIP's candidate for West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
Read more about his priorities here: https://petedurnell.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beverley Nielsen - Liberal Democrat Candidate - West Midlands Mayoral Elections 2017
Beverley Nielsen was born in the West Midlands and has spent most of her career in business working for companies such as CBI West Midlands, the Heart of England Tourist Board, Aga Foodservice Group plc and CNN. She was elected a County Councillor in Worcestershire in June 2009.
Read more about her priorities here: http://www.beverleynielsen.co.uk/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Siôn Simon - Labour Candidate - West Midlands Mayoral Elections 2017
Siôn Simon moved to the West Midlands when he was six with his family, growing up in the Black Country and Birmingham. He’s a season ticket holder at West Bromwich Albion. He was also elected in 2014 as a serving Member of the European Parliament, representing the West Midlands.
Read more about his priorities here: http://www.sion-simon.com/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Graham Stevenson - Communist Candidate - West Midlands Mayor 2017
Graham Stevenson was born in Coventry and has lived in the Midlands all his life. He is a retired former National Officer for the transport section of Unite the Union. He is also a senior member of the Communist Party and sits on its Executive Committee.
Read more about his priorities here: http://communist-party.org.uk/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Street - Conservative Candidate - West Midlands Mayor 2017
Andy Street was born in Oxfordshire but moved to the West Midlands aged 10 months. He worked his way up from the shop floor to become the managing director of department store John Lewis in 2007 and more recently he has led the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise partnership.
Read more about his priorities here: https://andy4wm.co.uk/About-Andy-Street