BirminghamLive and CoventryLive to host West Midlands Mayor hustings - how to get involved

The countdown is on - in just over a fortnight, people across the West Midlands will get the chance to vote for the next mayor. Conservative Andy Street is hoping to hang on to power for four more years but faces a formidable challenge from five candidates.

In our special live event, all six candidates will face a grilling, with questions posed by YOU, our readers. Posing the questions at our live hustings will be West Midlands editor Graeme Brown and Jane Haynes, BirminghamLive politics and people editor. Submit your questions by the end of Monday here

Tune in on our Facebook page here on Tuesday April 16 - the event gets under way at 2.15pm, concluding 4.15pm. Our live transmission will be recorded for playback.

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The role of mayor is increasingly significant, with additional powers and funding secured in a new devolution deal. Representing 2.8 million people, they do much more than act as an ambassador for the region.

They head up the combined authority, made up of the councils of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Coventry and Sandwell, with responsibility for total annual spending of around £8 billion. The economic growth and health of the region, its public transport network, tackling unemployment and developing jobseekers' skills, along with some responsibilities for tackling housing and homelessness issues, are among the mayor's remit.

They are also responsible for bringing the disparate parts of the region together to form one voice and one mission - to improve life for people living in the region. The candidates are:

• Andy Street - Conservatives

• Richard Parker - Labour

• Elaine Williams - ReformUK

• Akhmed Yakoob - Independent

• Sunny Virk - Liberal Democrats

• Siobhan Harper-Nunes - Green Party

Incumbent Andy Street, former CEO of John Lewis, has held the post since it was created in 2017. He has pledged his focus is on creating new jobs and apprenticeships, delivering better transport and providing more homes. He added that he wants to champion the region’s interests and promote pride in the West Midlands and all its communities.

The Labour Party candidate is Richard Parker - a former partner at public services accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. "The West Midlands is being held back by a failing Tory Mayor and a Tory government who have let our region down. I will campaign relentlessly in all of our communities, setting out a vision for a brighter future that brings better-paid jobs and opportunity for all. I will lead an all-out assault on low pay, rogue landlords and crime on our streets,” he said. “I won’t rest until we have an integrated, affordable, publicly controlled transport system in the West Midlands.”

The Green Party’s candidate is Siobhan Harper-Nunes, who has worked with charities and community organisations for more than two decades. She says she wants to make the West Midlands Combined Authority work harder for the “most left behind communities” and be more accountable to residents. She also wants to increase the 'pace and scale' of regional action on climate change. “What we have at the moment is just not working for the people of the West Midland,” she said. “Too many places in the West Midlands are still underfunded and left behind, and this has barely changed over the past seven years.”

For the Liberal Democrats is Sunny Virk, a father, barrister and mediator, who says the West Midlands is a place “that should be able to thrive." However, he claimed many residents are currently feeling hopeless and poorer. Commenting on his appointment, Mr Virk said: “We [the West Midlands] are the beating heart of Britain and the birthplace of modern industry, yet people tell me that they feel poorer than ever, and devoid of hope. We should have a world class transport network, our people should have the skills to get top jobs and we should be attracting a lot more investment." People also need quality, affordable homes while businesses and individuals want skills upgrades to fit the future workplace. “Our region needs investment to grow our regional economy,” he said.

Reform UK's candidate is Elaine Williams, a solicitor who has lived in the West Midlands for 18 years. She said she was standing to stop the pursuit of "net-zero", claiming that "anti-car" measures such as clean air zones were "seriously damaging our businesses." She said: "This is my home and, I like you, want our region to be first class. We deserve better. We need a new start and I will deliver what this region needs."

Akhmed Yakoob, famed as a 'Tik Tok lawyer', from Aldridge, is standing as an independent candidate and has told those in Gaza: "The people in the West Midlands have not forgotten you." Addressing his followers on social media, he said: "We have been wasting our votes for years - your vote is your voice and I am the voice for the voiceless." If elected, he says he will be advocating for more efficient burial services and for the Clean Air Zone to be scrapped. Polling Day is Thursday May 2.

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