2026 Birmingham City Council election

The 2026 Birmingham City Council election took place on 7 May 2026, with all 101 council seats up for election across 37 single-member and 32 two-member wards. The election was held alongside other local elections across Great Britain.

In the previous council election in 2022, the Labour Party maintained its control of the council, winning 65 seats. The Conservative Party formed the main opposition with twenty-two seats, with the Liberal Democrats on twelve and the Green Party winning two.

The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and boroughs covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Birmingham is a district of the West Midlands metropolitan county. The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan county councils, with the metropolitan boroughs individually taking on most of the county-level powers. The West Midlands Combined Authority was created in 2016 and began electing the mayor of the West Midlands from 2017, which was given strategic powers covering a region coterminous with the West Midlands metropolitan county.

Since its formation Birmingham City Council has variously been under Labour control, Conservative control and no overall control. Councillors have predominantly been elected from the Labour Party, Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. The council has had an overall Labour majority since the 2012 council election, when they regained control from the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition that had run the city since 2004.

John Cotton has led the Labour group on Birmingham City Council since May 2023, with Robert Alden leading the Conservative group, Roger Harmer leading the Liberal Democrats, Julian Pritchard leading the Greens, Martin Brooks leading the Harborne and Quinton Independents, and Jane Jones leading the Birmingham Independents.

Birmingham City council has been controlled by the Labour Party since 2012. The Conservative Party last held sole control of the council in 1984. It was under no overall control from 2003 until 2012, run by a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition from 2003 to 2004 and by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition from 2004 to 2012.

Changes 2022–2026:

• August 2022: Mohammed Azim (Labour) dies – by-election held October 2022
• October 2022: Saima Ahmed (Labour) wins by-election
• March 2024: Brigid Jones (Labour) resigns – by-election held May 2024
• April 2024: Rick Payne (Conservative) resigns – by-election held May 2024
• May 2024:
  • Jamie Scott (Labour) and Clifton Welch (Conservative) win by-elections
  • Alex Aitken (Labour) and Kirsten Kurt-Elli (Labour) resign – by-elections held July 2024
  • Ayoub Khan (Liberal Democrats) leaves party to sit as an independent
• July 2024: Carmel Corrigan (Labour) and Esther Rai (Labour) win by-elections
• September 2024: Shabina Bano (Labour) joins Liberal Democrats
• December 2024: Martin Brooks (Labour) leaves party to sit as an independent
• April 2025: Sam Forsyth (Labour) leaves party to sit as an independent
• July 2025: Kerry Jenkins (Labour) dies – by-election held October 2025
• August 2025: Barbara Dring (Labour) and Jane Jones (Labour) leave party to sit as independents
• October 2025:
  • Philip Mills (Liberal Democrats) gains by-election from Labour
  • Amar Khan (Labour), Mohammed Idrees (Labour), Chaman Lal (Labour), and Rinkal Shergill (Labour) leave party to sit as independents
• December 2025: Jack Deakin (Labour) resigns – seat left vacant until 2026 election
• January 2026: Waseem Zaffar (Labour) dies – seat left vacant until 2026 election
• April 2026: Hendrina Quinnen (Labour) joins the independent group

• Ongoing polls suggest a large increase in the election of independent candidates, particularly in areas with a high density of ethnic minority voters.
• Labour is expected to lose their majority, resulting in a No Overall Control council.