One of Birmingham's newly-elected councillors has said an 'uprise' of independents could benefit the city's 'forgotten' Brummies. Harris Khaliq became a Birmingham councillor after fighting a 'grassroot' campaign in the local elections, during which he says he was called the 'Mamdani of Ward End' by a resident – a reference to Mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani.
His victory came on a dramatic day of results in Brum, which saw a Labour collapse in the Second City amid deep frustration among voters – a situation which Reform UK and the Greens took advantage of.
Fracturing of Local Politics
What emerged from the local elections was a fracturing of local politics in Birmingham and a rainbow of alternative parties and personalities as the traditional two-party system was rejected. Another of the main headlines amidst this mishmash and a desire for change among many Brummies is the fact that 13 independent candidates of various backgrounds were elected – including Harris Khaliq.
In the build-up to the local elections, Khaliq was endorsed by Your Party and said he was inspired by Labour outcast and former leader Jeremy Corbyn. On his website, he argued that mainstream political parties had 'taken the public for granted'.
'They've ignored working-class people and treated local communities like ours with contempt,' he wrote. 'People are fed up with councillors who turn up once every few years asking for votes but do nothing between elections.'
Campaign Issues
He campaigned on a number of issues over the weeks, including reducing litter and fly-tipping; protecting Ward End Library; and pushing HS2 and other projects to hire locally. Khaliq's efforts paid off and he won his ward with a landslide of 2,078 votes – the second highest was Labour's Mohammed Aikhlaq with 525 votes.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after his victory was declared on Friday, he said he was 'overwhelmed' by the result and suggested voters 'came out strong' for him because they knew he cared deeply for Ward End.
'I think what happens is when you're grassroot in the community, and people know you, people generally know what you're about,' he said. 'I grew up there, I've lived there for 35 years, people knew their problems are my problems. I fix a pothole for them, I fix it for myself. If there's better investment into school, my kids go there too. If we keep the library open, my kids will go there as well.'
'This all meant so much to the residents.'
Voice for Residents
He continued: 'The main thing was that the residents did not have a voice and I made them feel that they will get a voice because that's what they deserve. And on Monday morning, it is my responsibility to take [their vote] back into the chamber.'
'They've had years and years of being forgotten, misled and misrepresented. Now it's time to give them all that back to restore hope.'
Asked if more independent voices joining the council would be a good thing for the city's future, Khaliq said: 'People who live within wards and [stand as] independents are the right people. At the end of the day, they are the bridge between residents and the council services, and that's what people want. That's what people are voting for – and you see this uprise across the city so think it's a great thing.'
Coalition Talks
Talks will now take place in the coming days to see whether a coalition can be formed to run the council, with both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats already releasing statements. It remains to see whether independent candidates will play a role in forming a stable administration.
Below is the new political makeup of the council – 51 seats were needed for a majority: Reform UK – 23; Green Party – 19; Labour – 17; Conservative – 16; Independents – 13; Liberal Democrats – 12; Workers Party – 1.
