As the first handful of results come in, the Erdington constituency has seen its first councillor lost to the predicted rising wave of populism – with Labour’s Jilly Bermingham knocked off her Perry Common perch by Reform UK’s Sue Willets.
As the final votes were counted and returned, Bermingham came in with 487 – nearly half of the 892 votes she secured the win with back in 2022.
Elsewhere on the ballot, Green Party’s Stephanie Boyle came in a relatively close third with 327 votes – followed by Husham Khan (Local Conservatives, 261 votes), Ahmed Ghulam (Independent, 213 votes), and Colin Hill (Liberal Democrats, 105 votes).
Talking to Erdington Local, Green Party candidates Stephanie Boyle was clear she woudl still an active environmental voice in the arae and continue her work on green spaces such as Perry Common Meadows.
But the clear winner was Reform UK’s Sue Willets, who romped home with a staggering 1020 votes.
After the announcement, Willets told Erdington Local: “ I come from a place of my heart, and I want to represent all of the members of the Perry Common ward equally.”
When asked about such a large vote share, she added: “I was [surprise] to be honest with you, I had a feeling that I might win but I didn’t think it would be such a clear margin.”
Willets has vowed her first action in office will be to hold a public surgery and hear directly from her new constituents.
