As you may know, our Workers Institute staged the first West Midlands Mayoral debate in March which saw around 150 people pose almost 100 questions to the 5 candidates.
The idea of a mayor for the West Midlands Combined Authority area (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, and Wolverhampton) is to provide a strong voice for the region. They will also be an ambassador for the area, selling it on the global stage. They will be the point of contact when the Government wants to speak to ‘the West Midlands’ and be responsible for driving the Devolution Agreement within government and the region.
The Mayoral election will be the first election for a governing body covering the entire West Midlands since the 1981 West Midlands County Council election.
Since the debate, we have invited each of the candidates to visit the Museum to find out about what we do and our plans for the future. So far, both Andy Street, Conservative candidate and UKIP candidate, Pete Durnell have taken us up on our invite and have met with Andrew and Lowell.
The election for a mayor is set to be held on 4 May 2017 and the successful candidate will run for an initial three year term. Subsequent elections will take place every four years.
How to vote
If you’re registered to vote, you should receive a polling card through the post at your home address.
You are then ready to cast your vote in person on 4 May 2017 at your local polling station, which is identified on your polling card.
Polling stations open from 7am to 10pm.
Leave a Reply