2026 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council election

Since the 2024 local elections, there have been a series of defections and resignations.

On 2 July 2024, Shakila Hussain, the Labour councillor for Palfrey and Walsall’s first Bengali councillor, resigned from the Labour Party following remarks made by party leader Sir Keir Starmer regarding Bangladeshi migrants.^[10] In her resignation statement, Hussain said she could not remain a member of a party which she believed was “scapegoating an entire nationality to pander to voters”.^[10] She confirmed that her resignation from the Labour Party took effect immediately.

Councillor Stacie Elson left the Walsall Conservative Group following her formal resignation on Tuesday 6 May 2025. She stated that she was “extremely disappointed” with the conduct of the council leader at the time, Councillor Garry Perry, which prompted her to quit the group.^[11] After a change in leadership at Walsall Council, she sought to rejoin the Conservative Group, but her application was not accepted by its members.^[11]

In September 2025, Jade Chapman, a Walsall councillor, resigned from the Conservative Party and subsequently joined Advance UK.^[12][13] Her resignation followed her attendance at the Unite the Kingdom march in London on 13 September 2025, organised by Tommy Robinson.

On 11 November 2025, Labour councillors Paul Bott and Chris Bott, who represent the Darlaston South ward, resigned from the Labour Party following a dispute over a £20 million allocation of government funding.^[14] The councillors cited dissatisfaction with the handling of the funding process by Pat McFadden, the Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East, and Matt Ward, leader of the Walsall Labour Group.^[14] The Botts also raised concerns about a lack of diversity on the board overseeing the funding, stating that there were no resident representatives from Rough Hay, Kings Hill, or Moxley. Councillor Chris Bott said that both she and Paul Bott would continue to advocate for a community-led approach to the funding.

Vera Waters announced her resignation from the Conservative Party on 24 November 2025. She was the fourth Conservative councillor in Walsall to resign. In her resignation statement, Waters said the party had “lost its way”.^[15] Waters stated that her decision followed a series of incidents, including an unresolved issue involving another councillor. She also cited the decision of the Aldridge Brownhills Conservative Association to prevent her from standing as a candidate in the following year’s local elections.^[15] Councillor Waters states her intention to stand in the 2026 Local Elections.^[15]

In January 2026, three Walsall councillors resigned from the Conservative Party following disputes over candidate selections for the May 2026 local elections. Gaz Ali and Amo Hussain, councillors for Birchills Leamore, and Izzy Hussain, councillor for Blakenall, all resigned on 13 January.^[16] In a joint statement, they cited the treatment of fellow councillors by the Aldridge Brownhills Conservative Association, including Keith Sears, who was among nine sitting councillors not approved as candidates despite having served for 50 consecutive years. The councillors stated that they had resigned from the party “with immediate effect”.^[16]

On 17th February 2026, Keith Sears, Councillor for Aldridge North and Walsall Wood, quit the Conservative Party following ongoing issues with the selection process. Initially, Councillor Sears was among the nine sitting Conservative councillors who were not approved by the Aldridge Brownhills Association. Cllr Sears appealed the decision and was offered a second selection interview but turned it down "as he knew the outcome would be the same".^[17] Cllr Sears described the Aldridge Brownhills Conservative Association as having a "death wish" and stated that the "association has ruined Aldridge".^[17] This marks the eighth councillor to resign from the council group in the last 12 months.^[17]

The Pelsall by-election took place on 11 September 2025, following Councillor Gary Perry’s resignation from office. Graham Eardley won the by-election in the Pelsall ward with just over 45% of the vote, while the Conservatives came second on 43%, a margin of just 55 votes between the two parties.^[18][19] This marked the first occasion on which a Reform UK councillor was elected to the council.

In the aftermath of this election, Jade Chapman and Lee Chapman, who was the Conservative Party candidate, quit the Conservative Party amid claims of bullying following their attendance at the "Unite the Kingdom" rally, hosted by Tommy Robinson.^[12] Since, both have been appointed as regional directors of Advance UK.^[13]

On 13 March 2026, BirminghamLive published an article citing an AI election model by Bombe predicting that Nigel Farage’s party would “seize control of Sandwell and Walsall”, with a “massive majority” in Walsall.^[20] The projection suggests 48 Reform seats, alongside nine Conservative and three ‘other’. The model is benchmarked against real-world election results and claims to have correctly called 85% of the last 20 by-elections. ^[20]

On 15 April 2026, JL Partners released an MRP poll projecting Reform on 43.8% in Walsall, well ahead of Labour in second place on 19.5%. The full results are as follows:^[21]