The Conservatives have won the Kingstanding by-election with a 5.8 percent swing of the votes, in a result which will take on national significance ahead of the General Election.
Under the party name Local Conservatives, Clifton Frederick Welch polled 829 votes – retaining the second councillor seat in the North Birmingham Ward for the Conservatives.
Mr Welch had previously stood for the Pype Hayes Ward in local council elections, losing out to Labour’s candidates by 92 votes in 2022 and only 16 votes in 2018.
Coming in second place in the Kingstanding by-election, Naz Rasheed won 680 votes for Labour – losing by 149 votes to the party’s main political rival.
In third place, and significantly behind the front two candidates, was Lucy Haywood for the Liberal Democrats who received 82 votes.
Christopher Lee was forth with 72 votes for the Green Party, Pete Higgins of George Galloway’s Workers Party of Great Britain came in fifth with 46 votes, whilst Kris O’Sullivan of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition took only 20 votes in sixth place. There were ten spoiled ballots counted.
Yesterday’s by-election in Kingstanding was sparked by the resignation of the Ward’s former Conservative Councillor Rick Payne’s – after a slew of his racist social media comments were made public following an investigation by national anti-racism charity HOPE Not Hate.
The by-election was the first Erdington constituency poll since Birmingham City Council was effectively publicly declared bankrupt, after a section 114 notice was issued by city officers in September 2023.
The nationally reported financial chaos brought in Government appointed commissioners, and saw Birmingham’s current Labour run Council increase Council Tax bills by 20 per cent over the next two years and pass a cost-cutting budget which axed lifeline services for the city most vulnerable adults and children.
The election is also the last meaningful vote before the General Election scheduled on 4 July. A Conservatives win in Kingstanding, with a 5.8 per cent swing, will send shockwaves throughout Westminster.
The result will be analysed by all the national parties and commentators looking for trends which can shed a light on voters intentions in the General Election.
The combined vote for the leftwing alternative to Labour, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition and the Workers Party was 66 votes which even if had gone to Labour would have still seen the Tories win.
Even if the Green vote, which many tactically vote instead of Labour, were added to the Workers and Socialist Parties the Tories still would have come out on top.
Further possibly reflecting the national trend, less than 1,700 Kingstanding residents turned out to vote in the by-election, with the official figures yet to be released by Birmingham City Council.
Rishi Sunak’s election team will likely seize on the result of what in national terms is an obscure by-elections as a glimmer of hope they can still win the General Election.
Following the results of the KIngstanding by-election, the Birmingham Conservative Group tweeted: “Birmingham Local Conservatives have won the Kingstanding by-election – with a 5.8% swing. The people of Kingstanding have sent a clear message to bankrupt Birmingham Labour over their double whammy of higher taxes and fewer services!”
At the time of writing, no message had been posted by either Birmingham Labour or their candidate Naziah Rasheed.
Polling company Election Maps UK claimed the Tories vote went up 4.7%, clinching 47.9% of the vote, whilst Labour’s vote dropped by 6.1% since the the 2022 local elections.
Councillor Welch is a familiar face in Erdington, campaigning in Pype Hayes with Birmingham City Council Conservative Group leader and Erdington Councillor Bobby Alden.
Erdington Conservative candidate for the General Election Steve Knee was knocking doors with Councillor Welch over the last week.
He said: “It was great to be supporting Clifton Welch in Kingstanding! Two out of the three days of this Bank Holiday weekend were spent in support of Clifton Welch in Kingstanding.”
Erdington Local has approached all political parties for comment.
For more on both local and national elections held across the UK, alongside advice on how to register to vote, visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk
Words by Erdington Local’s editorial team, profile pics supplied by Birmingham Conservatives and Birmingham Labour
Kingstanding residents will take to the ballot box on 30 May, as the resignation of Councillor Rick Payne has spurned an awkward by-election.
But with the ward’s second councillor from across the aisle under “administrative suspension” for wrongly pocketing over £6000 from the public purse, the people of the B44 postcode are living life without effective political representation.
As the race heats up for the open seat in the two councillor ward, Erdington Local takes a look at Kingstanding’s political past, present, and potential future.
“No taxation, without representation” was the refrain against the Kings of England for centuries.
Kingstanding, named such after King Charles I rested his troops in October 1642 during the Civil War, as he stumbled towards his own death six years later, is again on the political map for all the wrong reasons.
A by-election is set to be held on 30 May, after Conservative Councillor Rick Payne resigned from Birmingham City Council following an investigation from anti-racism group Hope Not Hate exposed a shockingly offensive Twitter account held by the elected official.
Worryingly, despite being a councillor for the governing party of the UK, the Conservatives, the former army veteran posted Islamophobic and racist tweets under a pseudonym ‘Ryk and the Los Palmas 7’ – calling a “civil uprising”, “revolution” and openly mused about the “assassinations of high profile political figures”.
The vile and vicious views of Mr Payne further included describing Pakistanis as “disgusting inbred mediaeval filth” and “dirtier than pigs”. Echoing Enoch Powell, he also hoped “blood will be spilt”.
What makes his heinous comments even more dangerous is the chequered past of political and racial tension in the ward he represented, an area sadly tarnished with a long-standing association with racism – which today the vast majority of Kingstanding residents vehemently oppose or have long since rejected.
But for decades, Kingstanding was one of the only wards in the country where the National Front would stand, even when the British National Party (BNP) stood as well. But the two far right parties only succeeded in splitting the vote between them and preventing the BNP candidate Sharon Ebanks from winning Kingstanding in 2006.
And in a significant sign that the race hate fuelled politics was no longer welcome in Kingstanding, when the National Front last stood for election in Kingstanding, in 2016, they received only 21 votes and have not been seen since.
At the time, veteran politicians complained about racist constituents letting the area down. But now it is the politicians who have let the people of Kingstanding down.
After the reorganisation of the political wards across Birmingham in 2018, Kingstanding went from having three councillors to two – and voters in 2022 returned Conservative’s Rick Payne and Labour’s Des Hughes.
But in March this year, a report was presented to Birmingham City Council’s Scrutiny Committee that found Cllr Hughes has breached the Council’s Code of Conduct on four counts – including pocketing over £6000 from a Council run special educational needs and disabilities service, SENDIASS, in what he claimed was intended to be “a voluntary capacity for a few weeks”.
Mr Hughes was first employed by SENDIASS in April 2019, in the position of Parent Partnership Support Officer. But after being selected as Labour’s candidate for the Kingstanding Ward in the Council 2022 elections he followed official protocol and resigned his city officer role, allowing him to campaign and take up office without a conflict of interests.
However, findings from Mr Lewin’s investigation showed Mr Hughes continued to work for SENDIASS until “at least” the end of August 2022, receiving a further £6,189.96 from the public purse – referenced as ‘SALERY OVERPAYMENT RECOVERY Late Leaver’ on the invoices
When questioned about the money, received after his official resignation from SENDIASS, Cllr Hughes claimed he was not aware he had been paid by the service and had not seen the invoices before – despite them being mailed to his home address in Kingstanding.
He told investigators: “…this might sound flippant, but if there’s money in the account when I go to the cashpoint, I tend not to investigate further.”
(pictured left to right – Rick Payne, Des Hughes)
Following the investigation, Birmingham Labour put their Kingstanding councillor on “administrative suspension”, with a final decision on how to address or resolve the matter yet to be made. And with a by-election now scheduled to elect a replacement for Rik Payne, the Kingstanding Ward is the political equivalent of a ship without a sail.
Payne quit his £18,876 a year post citing mental health struggles. But as Kingstanding’s Conservative councillor made an immediate exit when his political and personal world came crashing down, Kingstanding’s Labour councillor is still picking up the taxpayer’s dime.
And whilst it is difficult for any political party to force an elected official to step down, even if Birmingham Labour did decide to wash their hands of Mr Hughes he could still retain his position as Kingstanding councillor as an independent.
Although sitting in the Council’s chamber without a party to back you up is a difficult place to be.
One North Birmingham Labour councillor, who did not want to be named, told Erdington Local: “It is not easy being an independent councillor, especially if you want to get things done. Being in the party gives you research resources and just so much more information to do a better job for your constituents.
“And especially if your party is in charge, like Labour are. One phone call can solve a case work problem whereas if you are independent what sway have you got? You are just one step up from a member of the public when it comes to power and influence.”
Plus, having an independent councillor would mean Kingstanding will miss out again – with one of its elected officials unsupported and with their claws clipped.
But the upcoming by-election, to replace Mr Payne, could see a better candidate take up office – which would breathe life into the beleaguered political lung that currently wheezes for the Kingstanding Ward.
Six candidates have declared for the by-election on 30 May. Lucy Hayward for the Liberal Democrats, Pete Higgins for George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain, Patrick Christopher Lee for the Green Party, Kris O’Sullivan for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, and Clifton Frederick Welch for the Conservatives.
Naz Rasheed is standing for Labour; she will have to defend the party’s record at Birmingham City Council. Turnout is likely to be low. The Conservatives broke Labour’s stranglehold of the seat since the 1960s in 2014 during a previous by-election.
That year Gary Sambrook won the seat for the Tories. However, five years later he then became Northfield’s MP and Kingstanding was again left without representation until the following council elections.
There were also negotiations underway for a single issue candidate to stand against Labour in the upcoming Kingstanding by-election.
The Save Birmingham Youth Campaign wanted to turn the election in a referendum into Labour’s cuts to schools, SEND, and youth services. However, the plan did not get off the ground and whoever wins on 30 May from the six candidates in the race to replace for Councillor Payne will need to make up for lost time, and to start giving their constituents and the area the much needed support both have missed out on due to poor political representation.
Unlike the majority of local authorities Birmingham City Council does not reveal its councillor’s attendance record concerning meetings, committees, and or ward matters. And without entering a freedom of information request, which now often get refused on the basis of cost, it is almost impossible to discover how much case work each councillor is undertaking.
However, through anecdotal and data research using council agendas, minutes, and reports, Erdington Local can reveal Kingstanding’s most recent councillors did a fraction of the work other ward councillors have done. Whether it is objecting to planning applications or lobbying departments on behalf of desperate residents, Kingstanding’s political clout almost ground to a halt this spring.
Even public facing representation, including on social media, the blatant disinterest from those appointed to stand up and shout for the area is there all to see. The last post on Des Hughes’ Kingstanding Councillor Facebook page is from August last year, about a recycling day.
However, the penultimate post shows just how important it is to have an active councillor.
On August 11, 2023, Councillor Hughes posted: · “WARREN FARM URGENT CARE CENTRE UPDATE. Great news! I am delighted to be able to tell residents in North Birmingham that the future of our Urgent Care Centre on Warren Farm Road is assured for the foreseeable future.”
Any resident reading that now would think everything is indeed fine, instead it’s not. Warren Farm Urgent Care Centre’s services are being moved out of Kingstanding.
It has been one of the touchstone issues of the last 12 months, but for that you would have to keep up with local campaigners who grasped the nettle themselves – and neighbouring Labour Councillor Barbara Dring, suspended by Labour herself for three months until March.
And the health of the people of Kingstanding has long been a concern. Put simply, if you are born and live in Kingstanding you are more likely to die younger than people who live elsewhere. In the 2016 – 20 period, Kingstanding’s life expectancy at birth for females is 79.4 years and for males is 74.8 years.
This is worse when compared to the England average. In comparison, Birmingham’s life expectancy at birth for females is 81.9 years and for males is 77.3 years. However, this has still not stopped Warren Farm Urgent Care Centre being stripped of its services which local people depended on for decades.
Elsewhere in the ward, the campaign to keep Kingstanding Police Station was lost. But finally the Kingstanding Circle will soon have a brand new Lidl after the bulldozers began ripping down the derelict Kingstanding pub and decaying Kingstanding Shopping Centre.
And with residents never afraid to fight for their own cause, the latest battle will be to save Kingstanding Library – which could be lost in the huge cost cutting programme voted through by Birmingham councillors following the City’s financial collapse.
But Kingstanding is also known for its strength and resilience, with many of its resident dedicated to championing the area and standing for something that could inspire and encourage others. Some of the city’s first foodbanks were in the ward, the outreach programme of local churches have been praised nationally, and sport is a great way of inspiring the young in Kingstanding.
Second City Boxing Gym, on Kingstanding Circle is producing fine young people as well as champions like Niall Farrell. And K-Star Gym is giving direction and discipline through martial arts, their Gene Smith will be fighting for another world title this year.
There has always been a local pride in in the B44 postcode, which is not found everywhere. Whether that manifests itself with people standing on pub tables singing to Elton John ‘I’m Kingstanding, and I’m better than anyone’, or the instant generosity shown when an appeal for the less fortunate is launched.
On 30 May the people of Kingstanding will get the power to choose who represents them. And just as King Charles I faced his people and challenges there nearly 400 years ago, perhaps this time they will get someone they deserve.
For more on both local and national elections held across the UK, alongside advice on how to register to vote, visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk
The starting gun has been fired in the campaign of the 2024 General Election, putting the upcoming Kingstanding Ward by-election into the spotlight of national politics.
On 22 May, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a rare summer election with polling day on Thursday, 4 July. And unlike the vast majority of UK constituencies, voters in Erdington are being asked to pick their representative to Westminster for the second time in just over two years.
But as the country gears up to choose who represents them in the national corridors of power once again, another by-election has taken on added significance – as voters across the Kingstanding Ward head to the ballot box on 30 May to replace disgraced Conservative Councillor Rick Payne on Birmingham City Council.
Coming so soon after the recent local elections and before the now announced General Election, the up-coming Kingstanding by-election could be seen as a real electoral litmus test – with the results from the North Birmingham ward representing the feelings of voters across the country.
Candidates for the General Election will be given until Friday 07 June to confirm their intention to stand, but those running for local council in Kingstanding have already declared.
Contesting the seat for Labour will be Naz Rasheed, who ran for Kingstanding alongside Des Hughes in 2022 and lost by a narrow margin – coming fourth in the overall count, but only 65 votes behind Rick Payne who came in second.
Naz Rasheed fought a fierce campaign in the 2022 local elections, putting youth services and tackling crime in the area at the top of her agenda.
Also in the running will be Patrick Christopher Lee for the Green Party, who according to a Twitter profile under his name is the Communication Manager for the health focused NGO Impact on Urban Health – based in London.
Standing for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is Erdington resident and keen HMO activist Kris O’Sullivan, who was a big part of the Dave Nellist parliamentary campaign during the Birmingham Erdington by-election in 2022.
Hoping to repair the damage done by his now disgraced predecessor is Conservative candidate Clifton Walsh – a well known local resident who has previously stood for the Pype Hayes Ward in local council elections, losing out to Labour’s candidates by 92 votes in 2022 and only 16 votes in 2018.
Ahead of his run for the Kingstanding Ward, Mr Welsh launched the ‘Pride in Kingstanding’ campaign, encouraging community litter picking as Birmingham City Council faces cuts to its street cleaning services.
On the ticket for the Workers Party of Britain is Pete Higgins – representing George Galloway’s socialist and socially conservative political party that formed in 2019 and won the Rochdale by-election in 2024 on a strong pro-Palestine agenda.
Being held on Thursday, 30 May, the Kingstanding by-election is somewhat of a poisoned chalice for the main two political parties.
Conservatives do not want voters across the country to be reminded how one of their councillors was caught spewing racism on a secret Twitter account – and Labour do not want a light shone on their party’s very public record of running Birmingham City Council into financial chaos.
But whatever side you support in this game of political football, all the seven candidates standing in the Kingstanding by-election will have a lot more attention on their campaigns than they could ever envisaged – as the country warms up for a General Election on 4 July.
For more on both local and national elections held across the UK, alongside advice on how to register to vote, visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk
Words by Erdington Local editorial team / Pics by Ed King
Kingstanding residents have been urged to show how much they value the Warren Farm Urgent Care Centre after the NHS admitted it could soon close for good.
Situated on Waren Farm Road, by the colloquially known Concker Island, the NHS operated centre is open 365 days a year and has taken the strain off local hospitals for decades, but a recent inspection deemed the building “substandard”.
Kingstanding and Oscott Councillors have been informed the Urgent Care Centre, which stopped accepting walk-in patients about three years ago – according to staff – could close in a matter of weeks. However, staff at the facility were unable to confirm if the closure was imminent.
Oscott Councillor Barbara Dring (Labour) told: “We need Warren Farm Urgent Care Centre to stay open. The service is so important to this side of the city. Everyone who uses it needs to tell the NHS how important and beloved the centre is. We cannot lose another wonderful facility and only say how great it is after it is gone.”
She added: “Warren Farm Urgent Care Centre also plays a pivotal role helping the vulnerable and disabled in the community who it appears are not always considered in decision making. It has long been a community lifeline for so many.”
Kingstanding Councillor Rick Payne (Conservative) has also demanded “talks with the Trust” after hearing about the centre’s imminent closure.
A spokesperson for NHS Birmingham and Solihull said: “No decision has been made at this point. However, Warren Farm Urgent Care Centre in Kingstanding is currently housed in a building which is of a sub-standard quality, with significant patient safety concerns arising as a result.
“It’s important to us that our patients receive the best possible care in the most appropriate and safest facilities, which is why we are working through options for the future of the service.
“Over the coming weeks, we’ll be talking to patients and staff about any proposals in order to ensure the service can adapt to meet the needs of its local population and teams.”
The possible closure of the Urgent Care Centre Centre comes amid widespread concerns about local GP surgeries being overloaded and appointments with doctors becoming harder to obtain.
Elsewhere, the locally loved walk in centre on Erdington High Street closed its doors during the coronavirus lockdowns – eventually renaming the service as the Erdington Urgent Treatment Centre and moving to the Stockland Green Primary Care Centre in October 2020.
The High Street facility did reopen as the Erdington Health and Wellbeing Hub in December 2010, offering a range of free to access support through both drop in and pre-booked sessions with trained advisors – run by Witton Lodge Community Association.
From 2000 to 2010, under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown respectively, the NHS opened more than 230 walk-in centres across England.
But the facilities have been steadily shutting their doors, with the health regulator Monitor finding over 50 have closed since 2010 – with further research by the not-for-profit political-activism organisation 38 Degrees finding a further 44 are no longer seeing patients.
Originally planned to improve patient access to primary care, the NHS walk-in centres have ‘stirred debate’ within the healthcare sector over their cost effectiveness sand use of resources – according to Monitor.
However, the facilities have proved generally popular with local residents and users, offering an alternative to often overburdened GP surgeries.
One local patient, David Smith, complained: “I have given up trying with my doctors, they say phone up at 8am and the line is always engaged.”
