Labour leader’s delight as party retains power at troubled council
LABOUR held on to Sandwell Council in a bitter struggle against the Conservatives.
The Conservatives gained three seats, while Labour lost three.
It means Labour now has 61 seats, the Conservatives have ten and there is one seat for the independent councillor.
Sandwell Council leader Cllr Kerrie Carmichael said she was delighted with the results.
She said the election was dominated by national issues, with the cost of living crisis and numerous ‘partygate’ scandals big issues on the doorstep.
When asked about the recentlyappointed government commissioners in Sandwell, she said: “I don’t see the chaos that other people see. The government have sent in the commissioners, but that is not what the auditors wanted, and the Local Government Association gave us a cracking peer review, so make of that what you will.
“We’ve got an improvement plan in place, which we are working on.
“We’ve already made many progresses, and we’re working solidly.”
Last month the opposition tried to force the Labour leader and her cabinet to step down.
In a motion, Cllr Archer Williams, the interim Conservative leader, stated the council had “no confidence” in their ability to tackle the ‘‘deep-seated culture of poor governance and leadership’’. The governmentappointed commissioners are looking into failings at Sandwell Council and are taking over functions associated with governance and scrutiny until March 2024.
Meanwhile, Cllr Steve Melia, the Labour member who admitted an assault charge earlier this year, retained his seat in Great Barr with Yew Tree. It was the last seat to declare but in his speech Cllr Melia said it was “worth the wait”.
He said: “Democracy won in the end. I was, and still am, the best candidate.”
One Conservative said: “During our campaign, a lot of voters appreciated the hard work we are doing. But they would tell us how bad Boris
Johnson was, and why if they voted for us it would send a message to Boris that everything is OK, when it actually isn’t.”
Cllr Williams added: “There are so many issues in Sandwell. We just want to focus on the local issues where we can make a real difference. It’s not my place, really, to comment on what is going on nationally.”
Talk of low turnout dominated conversations at the count. Out of 233,000 people who were eligible to vote in Sandwell, only 61,000 people cast their ballot. That was just over 26 per cent. The highest turnout was in Abbey, situated in Bearwood, with 33.13% – a turnout of 2,809. The Labour candidate Bob Piper was reelected with 2,328 votes.