Reform UK local councillors and candidates, campaigning in Kingstanding ahead of the May ’26 Local Elections / Photograph supplied by Reform UK Birmingham
Ed’s note… This article was first published in the Erdington Local monthly newspaper, out on shelf from 18 June.
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Words by Councillor Jex Parkin and Councillor John Lambert
The Pride in Place Board is looking for Kingstanding residents to help shape how £20 million is invested in the area over the next decade. £2m a year.
That is a serious opportunity. It should restore pride, improve local spaces, support community life, back young people, strengthen local enterprise and make Kingstanding feel cared for again.
Paulette Hamilton MP has promoted this programme as resident led. On that, we agree. If Pride in Place means anything, it must be shaped by people who know the area, use the local shops, raise families here and understand what Kingstanding has been missing.
But local democracy matters too. Kingstanding elected two Reform UK councillors. Not one. Two. We do not take that for granted.
Councillors do not own seats; we borrow them from the public. In four years, voters may choose differently. That is democracy. That is why we are concerned by Paulette Hamilton MP’s view that only one Reform councillor should sit on the Pride in Place Board.
This is not about us. It is about the principle. If Kingstanding elects two ward councillors, both should be able to represent residents. If the politics change in four years, the same principle should apply to whoever Kingstanding chooses next.
A board shaping long-term investment should be built around fair representation, scrutiny and accountability, not political convenience.
So, if you care about Kingstanding, apply. Get involved. Ask questions. Challenge assumptions.
This process must be transparent, local and resident-led. Above all, it must deliver for Kingstanding.
Councillor Ray Goodwin on Castle Vale High Street / Photograph supplied by Birmingham Labour Group
Ed’s note… This article was first published in the Erdington Local monthly newspaper, out on shelf from 18 June.
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Words by Councillor Ray Goodwin
There is much to discuss this month, and I know many residents share my concerns about the rise in crime and anti-social behaviour across Castle Vale. In particular, the increasing number of illegal e-bikes and off-road bikes being ridden around the estate is causing real concern.
These vehicles pose a danger to pedestrians and other road users and, sadly, a young man has recently been injured. My thoughts are with him and his family, and I wish him a full and speedy recovery.
Residents are rightly worried about the impact this behaviour is having on our community. No one should feel unsafe in their own neighbourhood, and we all have a responsibility to ensure Castle Vale remains a safe and welcoming place to live.
West Midlands Police must do more to address the issue, and I will be holding a Crime and Community Safety meeting to seek answers and discuss what further action can be taken.
It is important that residents’ voices are heard, and I will continue to press for stronger action and support measures where they are needed.
On a more positive note, it is great to see that all of the parks across the estate have now been completed. These improvements provide welcoming spaces for families, children and residents of all ages to enjoy.
Access to quality green spaces plays an important role in encouraging healthy lifestyles and bringing communities together.
Paulette Hamilton MP on Erdington High Street / Photograph supplied by Birmingham Labour Group
Words by Paulette Hamilton MP
I have lived in our area for nearly 40 years. I raised my children here. This is not just the constituency I represent; it is my home. So when our community is threatened, I fight back with everything I have.
Over the years, residents have rightly raised concerns about the spread of HMOs. That is why I have made it my mission to stand with you and challenge inappropriate developments.
My record speaks for itself. Time and again, we have stopped HMO applications across Erdington, Kingstanding, Castle Vale and South Oscott, including a recent victory in Castle Vale.
Now, new HMO proposals are becoming increasingly rare. That is down to all of us. Residents who refuse to stay silent and an MP who refuses to back down.
But I am increasingly concerned about the growing influx of exempt accommodation, which is often being used as a Plan B when an HMO application has been refused. Landlords can lease properties to supported accommodation providers, who can then house a range of unrelated occupants, including people released from prison, without being subject to the same planning controls.
I have therefore written to the Housing Minister demanding an urgent update on plans to close this gap. I have also met with a fellow Birmingham MP to build a cross city alliance to tackle poorly managed exempt accommodation head on.
Too often, when one loophole is closed, another opens. But I want residents to know that I am watching this issue very closely.
This article was first published in the Erdington Local monthly newspaper, out on shelf from 18 June.
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The head of the of the Birmingham Liberal Democrats group, Cllr Roger Harmer (Acocks Green), was voted in as Leader of Birmingham City Council at a Full Council meeting yesterday.
Convening in the Council chamber at 6pm on 5 June, all 101 councillors from across the city were invited to attend and vote for the individual they wanted to take up the top job – which brings with it a special Responsibility Allowance of £56,579 on top of the Basic Allowance granted to all councillors of £19,952.
The vote for Council leader was called after no party managed to secure a majority in the recent Local Elections held in May 2026, with no majority coalition subsequently formed.
Official prepare to vote for city leader in Birmingham Council Chamber / Photograph by Ed King
Cllr Harmer was nominated by Birmingham Green Party leader, Cllr Julien Pritchard (Druids Heath & Monyhull), as part of a minority coalition between the two parties and independent councillors from the Better Birmingham Independent Group.
Also nominated, by members of their own parties, were the leader of the Birmingham Local Conservatives Cllr Robert Alden (Erdington) and the leader of the Birmingham Reform UK group Cllr Jex Parkin (Kingstanding).
Following the nominations, a 20 minute recess was taken before the three candidates were allowed five minutes to address the chamber and deliver a speech as to why they would be right person to form a Cabinet and lead the city’s elected officials.
Cllr Roger Harmer addresses chamber ahead of vote for city leader / Photograph by Ed King
Speaking in the order they were nominated, Cllr Harmer was the first to address the chamber, presenting a “coalition built on partnership” and asking those present to allow him to establish a Cabinet that would “put right the failures of the past” – seemingly referring to the 14 year long Labour run administration which ended with the city effectively declaring bankruptcy and an unresolved bin strike.
Addressing the city’s elected official next was Cllr Robert Alden, who began by declaring Birmingham “the greatest city in the world” before reminding the room and those hoping to govern that “just blaming the failures of the last 14 years will not be accepted” by the city’s residents.
Cllr Robert Alden addresses chamber ahead of vote for city leader / Photograph by Ed King
Cllr Alden further warned against the “frankly geographical [political] spilt across the city” following the recently Council elections, which saw concentrations of elected councillor from both political parties and independents in certain areas of Birmingham.
“None of us have a majority,” added Cllr Alden, “and no one over the next four years [until the next Council elections] should forget that.”
Cllr Alden’s speech received applause from across the Birmingham Council Chamber.
Last to address the room was the recently appointed head of Birmingham’s Reform UK group, Cllr Jex Parkin, who leads the lion’s share of Birmingham’s elected officials – overseeing 23 councillors, four more than Birmingham’s Green Party which sits as the second political group in the city.
Cllr Jex Park sits with Birmingham Reform councillors in Birmingham Council Chamber ahead of vote for city leader / Photograph by Ed King
After describing how Birmingham is still “deciding how we interpret on of the most significant results”, which also saw the Birmingham Labour Party lose 48 councillors, Cllr Parkin called for “co-operation across all political boarders” and warned against a “chaotic coalition of musical chairs.”
Leader of both the largest and newest political party in the city, Cllr Parkin closed his argument by listing the attributes that Birmingham Reform councillors could bring to their potential governorship of the city, and declaring “life experience beats political experience each and every time.”
Councillors present were then asked to voice their votes for the Council Leader, a process which had been postponed after the previous Full Council meeting in May ran out of time due to the inauguration of the new Lord Mayor Zaker Choudhry.
After the results were counted, Cllr Roger Harmer won with a clear majority of 40 votes – against 19 votes for Cllr Robert Alden and 18 votes for Cllr Jex Parkin.
Birmingham City Council House, as viewed behind Heras fencing / Photgraph by Ed King
Analysis of the results showed that the Liberal Democrats and Green Party has used their party whips effectively, retaining support from all their elected officials – alongside those from the Better Birmingham Independent Group.
The Birmingham Local Conservatives group also received votes from all its 16 councillors, alongside additional support from independents Cllr Amar Khan (Stockland Green) and Rinkal Shergill (Holyhead).
Birmingham’s Reform UK party however only received 18 votes from its body of 23 councillors, with their recently elected Kingstanding Councillor Graham Green absent from the meeting.
Of the last two remaining Labour councillors in the Erdington constituency, Cllr Ray Goodwin (Castle Vale) abstained and Cllr Mick Brown (Gravelly Hill) was absent.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham also received one vote, although it was not officially counted in the final results.
Erdington’s MP Paulette Hamilton has called for Sir Keir Starmer to step down as Labour Party leader, telling the BBC’s Sarah Montague “we need change” in an interview on Radio 4’s World at One programme.
Appearing on Monday 11 May, a few days after Labour suffered drastic loses in the recent Council elections – and where Reform UK and independent candidates took eight of the twelve local seats across the Erdington constituency – Ms Hamilton told the broadcaster there was a need for an “orderly transition” of power at the top of the Labour Party.
“At the moment, people are burying their heads in the sand,” added Ms Hamilton, before describing how over the last year and a half “I have seen where we are, people are just not listening. They do not trust anything [Labour] have to say.”
Promotional poster for BBC Four’s World at One with Sarah Montague
“They’re telling you, ‘I have voted Labour all my life but I am not voting for Keir Starmer,’” she continued, “if you know the Brummie way of doing things, [the general public] have made it clear they are not voting for Keir Starmer.”
Earlier in the interview, Ms Hamilton had outlined the threat she believes is being faced by the Labour Party over issues with its leadership, stating: “I am telling people today, unless we wake up smell the roses we may as well hand the keys of Number 10 over to Reform in the next couple of years.”
This was highlighted in a recent and razor thin battle for the Stockland Green Ward, where the Labour candidate Derek Douglas lost to Reform UK’s Mansoor Butt by only one vote.
At the official count, Mr Douglas told Erdington Local he felt the loss was a direct result of negative feelings towards the national party.
Reform’s Mansoor Butt in an empty Utilita Arena after Stockland Green recount / Photograph by Ed King
The Erdington MP’s strong words today mirror a campaign spearheaded by Catherine West MP (Hornsey and Friern Barnet, Labour) to oust the Labour leader and establish a fresh face in Number 10 ahead of the next General Election.
At the time of writing, over 50 MPs across the UK have backed the call for a leadership challenge – with Sir Starmer making an impassioned speech to buoy support from his backbenchers and Cabinet, highlighting plans to potentially nationalise British Steel, and provide better opportunities for young people.
The Labour Leader was also clear on his plans to “[rebuild] our relationship with Europe” and put “Britain at the heart of Europe” – which many see as paving the way for a potential re-entry to the European Union.
Ms Hamilton MP also referenced this in her Radio 4 interview, stating she “was for Europe” and was “happy with what [Keir Starmer] said” in his speech, but that people in Erdington were contacting her constituency office the Labour leader’s stance.
“I’m telling you, residents have already started writing to me telling me they don’t like it,” Ms Hamilton told the BBC. “That’s the point. At the moment I’m starting to get mail into my office saying, ‘why has he (Kier Starmer) come out with that?’”
Paulette Hamilton and Keir Starmer in Erdington during by-election camapign in 2022 / Photograph from Erdington Local archives
Erdington Local reached out to Paulette Hamilton’s office for further comment on the issues over Europe and the EU and received the following statement from the Erdington MP:
“I campaigned to remain, but Britain voted to leave. That’s democracy. Residents have told me on the doorstep and by email that we voted to leave, and they’re right.
“A good relationship with Europe is important, but the ‘new direction’ won’t put us back to where we were in the EU.”
At the recent Council elections, Reform UK candidates won both seats in both Oscott and Kingstanding, and one of the two seats up for grabs in Stockland Green – with the other going to incumbent independent Amar Khan. Reform also one the single seats contested in Pype Hayes and Perry Common.
Elsewhere, Labour incumbents retained their seats in Gravelly Hill and Castle Vale – with the Local Conservatives also holding onto their two seats in the Erdington Ward.
The battle for Stockland Green went until the bitter end as the political ward became one of the last to be called in the 2026 Council elections, with Labour demanding a recount.
After tables and chairs had been packed away across the Utilita Arena, with most people already celebrating or commiserating, the two councillor ward could only confirm one outright winner – sitting local councillor Amar Khan, who was deselected by Birmingham Labour and stood for re-election as an independent.
But the second seat came to the wire with Reform UK’s candidate winning by just one vote – prompting Labours Derek Douglas to request a recount.
After tensions and frustrations grew, the votes were totalled up again and confirmed that Reform UK’s Mansoor Butt had indeed take the seat.
Douglas blamed the Labour loss on the negative perceptions of the national party, and lamented plans Birmingham Labour had about unifying the retail community and tackling street crime.
Whilst Mansoor Butt remained resolute that his strong connections with the local area could galvanise a positive change and hold other local stakeholders to account.
Speaking to Erdington Local after the results were finally announce, Mansoor Butt told: “To be honest, I was panicking at the start. But at the end of the day, all the hard work from my party and senior membership has supported me throughout.”
When asked if he had a message for the electorates that got him finally over the line, Butt added: “I must say thanks to the people [of Stockland Green] they trusted us and they gave us a chance.
“But we should be more stressing on the fact we now have to deliver; we cannot step back, we can not just take everything for granted, and with the help of my colleagues and my team I’m ready to go for it.”
Popular Councillors Robert Alden and Gareth Moore have retained their Erdington Ward seats for the Local Conservatives, after the forecasted threat of Reform did not transpire in the heart of Erdington.
Taking a comfortable lead as the final votes were counted, the longstanding Erdington representatives managed to fight off the wave of wins from Nigel Farage’s party – who have taken the majority of seats across the constituency.
Both well known in the local area, their campaign was fought firmly on the ground – campaigning on the streets where they live and work, with local people often offering support even against a sullied backdrop of national politics.
Likewise, elsewhere in Erdington, Cllr Mick Brown (Gravelly Hill) and Cllr Ray Goodwin (Castle Vale) adopted a strong local campaign – currying hyper local electoral favour as the Birmingham Labour brand tanked across the city.
Speaking to Erdington Local after the announcement, Cllr Robert Alden told: “We (Robert Alden and Gareth Moore) both try and be in the local area, working with local people because for us, that’s what being a councillor is.
“We are so proud and honoured to represent the people of Erdington. We are so grateful them for putting their faith in us to continue doing that in the next 4 years.”
When asked if he was relived to have beaten off the rise of Reform that has dominated results across both the Erdington constituency and the wider city, Cllr Alden added: “I feel incredibly glad that the people of Erdington have put their faith in me and Gareth because we are incredibly proud to represent Erdington and we are very grateful to have had their faith again.”
(l-r) John Lambert and Jex Parkin celebrate winning both seats in the Kingstanding Ward / Photograph by Ed King
Words by Ed King
Reform UK have continued to clean up across the Erdington constituency, with wins across the board in both Kingstanding Ward and Oscott Ward – taking all the seats being contested and strengthening Nigel Farage’s party’s increasing domination of the Council election’s results.
Standing in Kingstanding, John Lambert and Jex Parkin beat ten other candidates from both mainstream parties and standing as independents – comfortably taking the two pole positions.
Speaking to Kingstanding/Erdington Local after the announcements, Reform’s Erdington constituency branch chair, John Lambert, told: “Its confirmation of what we already knew which is that people in Birmingham have wanted to see change for a long time.”
He added: “The Tories haven’t managed it, Labour hasn’t managed it, neither can the Lib Dems or the Greens, and we’ve seen a good result for Reform UK in Birmingham which I am really excited to be a part of.”
(l-r) Graham Green and James McAuley win Oscott Ward fro Reform UK / Photograph by Ed King
Standing in Oscott, Graham Green and Martin McAuley were voted also into office, with Reform UK again representing the entire ward and marking another resounding win for Reform UK.
Once a Conservative councillor, Graham Green has experience traversing the political landscape of Birmingham – and will be supporting his running mate, Martin McAuley, who is a fresh local political contender.
“I’m sure the Council has changed from when I was last on there,” told Graham Green, “and Martin is new of course… so I am going to hold his hand and see what we can do for the people of Oscott.”
Reform’s win in Kingstanding and Oscott has seen end of two longstanding local councillors, Des Hughes and Barbara Dring – both of who were once stalwarts of Birmingham Labour, but following deselection stood in the 2026 local elections as independents.
With only a handful of seats left to be announced, it’s looking like the shake up to the status quo will continue – leaving some hard conversations around possible coalitions to be had before the people of Birmingham can have a firm idea of who will be running the city.
Castle Vale Councillor Ray Goodwin (Labour) has secured a narrow victory against Reform UK, retaining his seat by 44 votes.
In a razor thin contest, the locally popular politician took pole position with 899 votes – nudging ahead of the Reform candidate, Ross Copeland, who secured 855 votes.
Elsewhere, Margaret Okole won 124 votes for the Green Party, Roman Chapman won 107 votes for the Local Conservatives, Trevor Sword saw 30 votes cast for the Liberal Democrats, and Lousie Scrivens landed in last place with 11 for the Workers Party.
But Castle Vale has been seen by many as a key battleground in the Labour/Reform fight, with Cllr Goodwin campaigning hard on his own merits and fighting a significant backlash from local residents towards Birmingham Labour and the national party.
Across social media, on the run up to election day, many turned out in support of Cllr Goodwin – despite showing clear animosity for Birmingham Labour. But many also turned their backs on the local councillor because of his party political attachment and the failings they blame on the Labour run Local Authority.
Today’s result was simply too close to call.
Cllr Goodwin was joined by family, co-workers, and fiends at today’s election count. Speaking to Castle Vale/Erdington Local after the announcement, Cllr Ray Goodwin told: “I’m really pleased to have been re-elected; I fought this on a local level, listening to local people and directly engaging with our residents on Castle Vale.
“We’re a community, and I’m a representative of that community – their voices and their concerns had to lead this campaign. And we, as a community, won.”
He added: “And I want to thank everyone on Castle Vale who vote for me and say to both them and everyone else – I won’t let you down.”
Sam Richards (left) and her husband at the Utilita Arena ahaed of the results for Stockand Green Ward / Photograph by Nicola Murray
Words by Nicola Murray
With all single councillor words being called first, the room is starting to empty as the focus turns to wards with two seats being contested. And in the Erdington constituency, Stockland Green will be one of the most fiercely fought.
Ahead of any more results coming in, Nicola Murray caught up with Sam Richards – one of three independent candidates contesting Stockland Green, and the only non-party affiliated name on the ballot paper that is not currently in office.
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After Ward End seeing a landslide independent victory, how does that make you feel about your chances in Stockland Green?
Sam Richards: “I think it is interesting because there is independent candidate alliance and I think they have done very well and they have shown what happens when people come out and vote and for me that is the encouraging thing moving forward; inspiring more people to get involved, to come out and have their say.”
How does the results of the previous Erdington wards make you feel going into your own ward’s election?
Sam Richards: “Anything is possible, we’re in a really interesting time and I am excited about the future. The election is one day, but the reality of it is what happens after that. For me, and our work in the community I am just excited to propel forwards.”
Have you been speaking to your fellow candidates in Stockland Green today, and what is the environment there?
Sam Richards: “Yes, and I get along well with all of them, and when I was at the council house they were confused as to why I was smiling to everyone, but for me, it isn’t about politics. If we put all of our focus on standing against each other, we are not focused on what is important – which is the community.
“We have had some good chats; there have been some ideas about who is in what position already. But for me, it is about what we do going forward.”
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Erdington Local also reached out to one of the Labour candidates for Stockland Green, who was standing near Sam Richards at the time, but they were unwilling to comment.
Results for the Stockland Green Ward will be announced this afternoon.
