Local elections 2021: Mayor of the West Midlands - who's standing and what does the mayor do?
The elections on Thursday 6th May will be the biggest round of elections in living memory.
That's because there will be a combination of elections which had always been scheduled for 2021, and a large number which were postponed from last spring due to the Covid pandemic.
If you live within the West Midlands Combined Authority area, you will be able to vote for the next West Midlands mayor. This is the second election for the post; the first one was in 2017.
Nominations have now closed, so we know who will be running.
Will I be voting for the Mayor?
It will say on your polling card which elections you can vote in.
The Mayor’s patch includes the traditionally Labour-dominated cities of Birmingham and Coventry, the Conservative heartland of Solihull, and the Black Country boroughs of Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley along with the city of Wolverhampton, which have all swung away from Labour and towards the Conservatives in recent years.
What does the Mayor of the West Midlands do?
The West Midlands Mayor is the chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority and has power over transport, planning and housing, and some aspects of jobs, training and the economy.
The Mayor represents the West Midlands in negotiations over any further transfers of powers from central government to the region.
Who are the candidates?
Andy Street
The Conservative candidate. Last time he defeated the Labour MEP Sion Simon, but by the narrowest of margins.
Liam Byrne
The Labour candidate. He is a former minister and current MP for Hodge Hill.
Jenny Wilkinson
The Liberal Democrat candidate. She is a Forensic Accountant.
Steve Caudwell
The Green Party candidate. He is a councillor in Solihull.
Pete Durnell
The Reform Party candidate. This party has grown out of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party.
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