Everything you need to know about the West Midlands mayoral election 2021
There are five candidates standing for election
Last updated 23rd Apr 2021
People across the West Midlands will be voting on 6 May to elect a regional mayor.
The election was originally due to take place in May 202, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
People will be heading to the polls in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall local authority areas.
In the first ever West Midlands mayoral election in 2017, the Conservative candidate Andy Street defeated Labour's Siôn Simon in the final round with 50.4% of the vote.
The election uses a supplementary vote system, where voters select a first and second preference from the list of candidates.
If a candidate receives over 50% of the first preference vote the candidate wins.
If no candidate receives an overall majority , the top two candidates proceed to a second round and all other candidates are eliminated.
Those standing for mayor must have 30 signatures of registered electors and be aged 18 or over and either live or work in the West Midlands Combined Authority area.
We've listed all five candidates who intend to stand for mayor this year below (listed alphabetically):
Liam Byrne, Labour
Liam Byrne has been the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill since 2004 and was selected as Labour's candidate in February 2020. He is a former chief secretary to the Treasury.
Steve Caudwell, Green Party
Steve Caudwell is the party's group leader on Solihull councillor and was announced as a candidate in January 2021. He's a former project delivery specialist working for Jaguar Land Rover, Airbus and the Department for Education.
Pete Durnell, Reform UK
Pete Durnell has lived in Smethwick for almost 30 years, working in West Bromwich as an IT specialist and manager. He became involved in politics in 2014, leading several campaigns to leave the EU.
Andy Street, Conservatives
Andy Street was re-selected as the Conservative candidate in September 2019. He was previously the managing director of John Lewis.
Jenny Wilkinson, Liberal Democrats
Jenny Wilkinson is a chartered accountant and business consultant who was selected to a candidate in December 2020. She stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Sutton Coldfield in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.
All candidates must submit their completed nomination papers by 16:00 on the 19th working day before the poll.
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