Borough’s political map redrawn ahead of election

SANDWELL’S political boundaries have been redrawn ahead of the next general election.

The periodic review of the region’s – and the country’s – constituency boundaries carried out last year will see the old parliamentary seats of West Bromwich East, West Bromwich West, Warley, and Halesowen and Rowley Regis scrapped, redrawn and renamed West Bromwich, Tipton and Wednesbury, Smethwick, and Halesowen.

Sandwell’s current ward boundaries will remain the same but the remapping of the political borders for general elections will see the four new constituencies created.

Sandwell’s ward boundaries, which are used for local elections, remain unchanged with the alterations only affecting the votes for the region’s MPs at the next general election – which, by law, has to be held by January 28, 2025.

One seat in each of the council’s 24 wards will be up for grabs in local elections on Thursday, May 2, with voters in Sandwell choosing not only a council representative but also their preference for the next mayor of the West Midlands.

The poll to elect the next West Midlands police and crime commissioner (PCC) is also scheduled to take place on the same day but the run-up to the vote had been marred by a political row over whether the powers, which include setting the force’s budget, appointing chief constables and issuing a policing plan, should remain with the PCC’s office or be transferred to the West Midlands mayor.

Sandwell is currently home to three Conservative MPs Nicola Richards and Shaun Bailey in West Bromwich East and West Bromwich West respectively, with James Morris representing Halesowen and Rowley Regis and Labour’s John Spellar the holder of the Warley seat.