Explainer

Who is standing for election in the Midlands in 2024?

Voter places paper inside a ballot box.

Voters in the Midlands will head to the polls on 2 May to elect local councillors, Police & Crime Commissioners and two regional Mayors.

In parts of the East Midlands voters will elect the first ever East Midlands Mayor covering Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Leicester and Leicestershire are not part of the new East Midlands Combined County Authority.

Meanwhile, Conservative Andy Street is seeking re-election for a third term in the West Midlands, which has had an elected regional Mayor since 2017.

That's all due to happen before a UK Parliamentary General Election later in the year.

Who are the candidates for Mayor?

EAST MIDLANDS MAYOR

  • Frank Adlington-Stringer, Green Party

    • Frank Adlington-Stringer is the first ever Green councillor elected in North East Derbyshire. He's promised to bring about a Green Industrial Revolution - while creating citizens assemblies for the public to have their say.

  • Cllr Ben Bradley MP, Conservative

    • Conservative leader of Nottinghamshire Country Council and Mansfield MP, Ben Bradley has thrown his hat in the ring. He says he'll spend some of the devolved money on improving roads and public transport. He's spoken about the importance of being from the area and being the right person to encourage investment into the region.

  • Cllr Alan Graves, Reform UK

    • Reform UK's candidate is Derby councillor and Lord Mayor Alan Graves. He says people in the East Midlands don't currently have a voice, but he would get rid of the new Combined County Authority, claiming having a Mayor is a waste of money

  • Matt Relf, Independent

    • Matt Relf is an independent candidate who boasts a decade of experience in highways maintenance. He says only an independent can stand up to Westminster and put the East Midlands first while building the right kind of homes, not just ones that are profitable for developers.

  • Helen Tamblyn-Saville, Liberal Democrat

    • Helen says she will work towards improving transport links, having better standards for homes and keeping the environment in mind when making long-term decisions.

  • Claire Ward, Labour

    • Labour's hopeful is the former MP Claire Ward. She's worked a lot with the NHS and says she'll be a champion for better services and a voice for forgotten communities. She wants to increase the number of affordable homes across the region and help create thousands of jobs in the green sector.

WEST MIDLANDS MAYOR

  • Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party

    • The Green Party candidate, Siobhan Harper-Nunes says she'll increase the pace and scale of action on climate change. She's described the West Midlands Combined Authority as "out of touch" and says she'll make sure it gives a voice to "left-behind communities"

  • Richard Parker, Labour

    • Hoping to make it third time lucky for Labour is Richard Parker. The business man and consultant says the Tories have harmed the West Midlands. He plans to bring buses under public control and says he has a plan to revitalise left-behind towns and boost tourism.

  • Andy Street, Conservative

    • Conservative Andy Street is running for a third consecutive term. The former John Lewis boss says he wants to triple the number of social homes built across the West Midlands and fund 40 new career advisors for the region’s most challenged schools.

  • Sunny Virk, Liberal Democrat

    • The Liberal Democrat candidate is barrister Sunny Virk. He was the party's candidate in the Tamworth by-election last year. He's says he wants to focus transport and has challenged his rival candidates to speak out against what he's described as "racism" from others in their parties.

  • Elaine Williams, Reform UK

    • Elaine Williams is Reform UK's candidate. She's a solicitor and says she wants to stop the "net-zero" agenda and that "anti-car" measures such as low traffic neighbourhoods and clean air zones are "seriously damaging businesses." She argues getting rid of them will attract more investment.

  • Akhmed Yakoob, Independent

    • Akhmed is a criminal defence lawyer who has the backing of George Galloway MP, who founded and leads the Workers Party of Britain. He runs a TikTok account giving legal advice and says as Mayor he will give voice to the voiceless.

For the first time, the election of West Midlands Mayor will take place using the First Past the Post system, the same as in a general election. It means the candidate with the highest number of votes wins.

Which candidates are standing for Police & Crime Commissioner?

The deadline for candidates to confirm their candidacy is the 5 April.

WEST MIDLANDS POLICE

  • Tom Byrne, Conservative

  • Simon Foster, Labour

WEST MERCIA POLICE

  • John-Paul Campion, Conservative

  • Henry Curteis, English Democrats

  • Julian Dean, Green Party

  • Cllr Sarah Murray, Liberal Democrat

  • Richard Overton, Labour

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE POLICE

  • Gary Godden, Labour

  • Caroline Henry, Conservative

  • David Watts, Liberal Democrat

LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE

  • Roy Palmer, Labour

  • Ian Robert Sharpe, Liberal Democrat

  • Rupert Oliver Matthews, Conservative

  • Aasiya Bora, Green Party

  • Fizza Askari, One Leicester

DERBYSHIRE CONSTABULARY

  • Nicolle Ndiweni, Labour and Co-operative Party

  • David Hancock, Liberal Democrat

  • Angelique Foster, Conservative

  • Russell Winston Armstrong, Reform UK

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE POLICE

  • Martyn Emberson, Conservative

  • Ana Savage Gunn, Liberal Democrat

  • Danielle Stone, Labour and Co-operative Party

STAFFORDSHIRE POLICE

  • Ben Adams, Conservative and Unionist Party

  • Alec Sandiford, Liberal Democrat

  • Alastair Watson, Labour

WARWICKSHIRE POLICE

  • Richard Dickson, Liberal Democrats

  • Sarah Feeney, Labour

  • Philip Seccombe, Conservative

GLOUCESTERSHIRE CONSTABULARY

  • Chris Nelson, Conservative

  • Martin John Surl, Liberal Democrat

  • Ashley Smith, Labour

  • Matthew James Randolph, Independent

LINCOLNSHIRE POLICE

  • David Dickason, English Democrats

  • Peter Anthony Escreet, Reform UK

  • Mike Horder, Labour

  • Marc Jones, Conservative,

  • Lesley Anne Rollings, Liberal Democrat

Which councils are holding elections in 2024?

  • Dudley Council, election for all councillors

  • Coventry Council, election for one third of councillors

  • Sandwell Council, election for one third of councillors

  • Solihull Council, election for one third of councillors

  • Walsall Council, election for one third of councillors

  • Wolverhampton Council, election for one third of councillors

  • Cannock Chase Council, election for one third of councillors

  • Nuneaton and Bedworth Council, election for half all councillors

  • Redditch Council, election for all councillors

  • Lincoln Council, election for one third of councillors

  • Rugby, election for one third of councillors

  • Tamworth, election for one third of councillors

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