Birmingham City Council tonight finally announced the last ward result for the 2026 elections, rubber-stamping former leader John Cotton's defeat. The ex-Labour chief had revealed he had lost in Glebe Farm and Tile Cross as votes were being counted last Friday. But incredibly, it took until nearly 8pm on Monday, May 11 for the results to confirm who had won the two council spots amid reports of a series of recounts.
Winners in Glebe Farm and Tile Cross
Finally able to celebrate were Reform UK's Jessica Ankrett, who claimed the party's 23rd seat with 1,394 votes, and Shehryar Kayani of the Workers Party. He won by just six votes from the second Reform candidate Satnam Tank, a wafer-thin victory of 1,163 to 1,157. Fourth was the second Workers Party candidate, Amir Shafique, with 1,078 votes. Veteran former Labour councillor Marje Bridle, who served since 1986, received 1,035 votes. Mr Cotton received 896 votes.
Final Council Makeup
The result completes the election picture for 2026, with Reform on 23 seats, followed by the Green Party with 19, Labour 17, the Conservatives 16, Independents 13, Liberal Democrats 12, and now one Workers Party councillor. None of the parties are close to the 51 needed for a majority on the 101-seat council. Even if two joined forces, they would not have enough councillors to outvote the others.
Coalition Negotiations Ahead
Now negotiations and bargaining will continue apace to see who will be the new council leader and how the city, which has a £4.4 billion budget, will be governed. Dr Jason Lowther, director of the Institute of Local Government Studies at the University of Birmingham, said: “I’m not aware of coalitions involving Reform UK at present in English councils. In most cases they govern with a simple majority and in three cases they run councils as the largest party but without a majority. In Cornwall, although Reform are the largest party, the council is run by the Liberal Democrats with Independent councillors. The Green Party is the largest party with minority control in a few councils, and is part of several coalitions, mainly with Lib Dems but sometimes with Labour.”
Political Fallout
Meanwhile, Erdington MP Paulette Hamilton today joined a growing band of Labour faithful calling for the Prime Minister to step down, something he said he had no intention of doing. She said voters at last week's local elections had expressed dissatisfaction with national politics and that the time had come for an 'orderly transition.'
