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2026 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election

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2026 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election
← 2024
7 May 2026 (2026-05-07)
2027 →
All 51 seats to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
26 seats needed for a majority
Registered164,572
Turnout73,798
44.8%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Karen Grinsell Michael Gough Ade Adeyemo
Party Conservative Reform Liberal Democrats
Last election 30 seats, 50.5% Did not stand 8 seats, 14.2%
Seats before 27[1] 4 8
Seats won 24 17 6
Seat change Decrease 3 Increase 13 Decrease 2
Popular vote 74,531 66,303 22,986
Percentage 35.5% 31.5% 10.9%
Swing Decrease 15.0pp N/A Decrease 3.3pp
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Max McLoughlin Hazel Dawkins
Party Green Labour Independent
Last election 10 seats, 16.1% 1 seat, 18.7% 2 seats, 0.3%
Seats before 8 1 3
Seats won 4 0 0
Seat change Decrease 4 Decrease 1 Decrease 3
Popular vote 32,611 13,458 318
Percentage 15.5% 6.4% 0.2%
Swing Decrease 0.6pp Decrease 12.3pp Decrease 0.1pp
Winner of each seat at the 2026 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
Leader before election

Karen Grinsell
Conservative

 Leader after election

Karen Grinsell
Conservative
No overall control[a]

The 2026 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2026 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in West Midlands, England, coinciding with other local elections.[2]

Prior to the election the council was under Conservative majority control. The council went under no overall control at the election. The Conservatives remained the largest party, but fell two seats short of a majority. They subsequently formed a minority administration to run the council. The incumbent Conservative leader of the council, Karen Grinsell, was reappointed to the role at the subsequent annual council meeting on 26 May 2026.[3][4]

Background

[edit]

In 2024, Conservatives retained control of the council.[5][6] During the term, four Conservative councillors left the party to formed an independent group, of which three defected to Reform UK later on, In February, another Conservative councillor from the Shirley West ward defected to Reform UK.[7]

In 2026, all 51 seats in the council across seventeen wards will be up for election due to ward boundary changes.[8] Several senior Conservative councillors, including former leader of the council Ian Courts, did not stand for re-election in 2026. None of the three independent councillors prior to the election stood for re-election.

Election result

[edit]
2026 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election[9]
Party Candidates Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 51 24 N/A N/A Decrease 3 47.1 35.5 74,531 –15.0
  Reform 51 17 N/A N/A Increase 13 33.3 31.5 66,303 N/A
  Liberal Democrats 33 6 N/A N/A Decrease 2 11.8 10.9 22,986 –3.3
  Green 42 4 N/A N/A Decrease 4 7.8 15.5 32,611 –0.6
  Labour 51 0 N/A N/A Decrease 1 0.0 6.4 13,458 –12.3
  Independent 2 0 N/A N/A Decrease 3 0.0 0.2 318 –0.1

Ward results

[edit]

Balsall & Berkswell

[edit]
Balsall & Berkswell (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Heather Delaney* 2,164 63.6
Conservative Tony Dicicco* 1,945 57.1
Conservative Terry Baker 1,797 52.8
Reform Garry Taylor 788 23.1
Reform Steve Thompson 757 22.2
Reform TJ Desai 685 20.1
Liberal Democrats Bob Carleton 594 17.4
Green Trevor Barker 550 16.2
Labour Margaret Brittin 362 10.6
Labour Anna Gretton 344 10.1
Labour Matthew Stephens 229 6.7
Turnout 3,661 49.3
Registered electors 7,420
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Blythe

[edit]
Blythe (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Keith Green* 1,614 46.1 –14.1
Conservative Richard Holt* 1,576 45.0 –15.2
Conservative Simon Coles 1,489 42.5 –17.7
Reform Mark Evans 1,145 32.7 N/A
Reform Jamie Walker 1,113 31.8 N/A
Reform Dermot Reid 1,098 31.4 N/A
Green Vijay Inamdar 646 18.4 +8.4
Liberal Democrats James Oliver 410 11.7 +4.3
Liberal Democrats John Galpin 389 11.1 +3.7
Labour Teresa Corr 383 10.9 –11.5
Labour Kam Chouhdry 335 9.6 –12.8
Labour Craig Fergusson 309 8.8 –13.8
Turnout 3,758 43.7
Registered electors 8,595
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Castle Bromwich

[edit]
Castle Bromwich (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Alan Feeney* 2,376 61.3 N/A
Reform Jamie Campbell 2,181 56.2 N/A
Reform Chris Whelan 2,089 53.9 N/A
Conservative Martin McCarthy* 1,097 28.3 –32.3
Conservative Bernie Donnelly 1,066 27.5 –33.1
Conservative Leslie Kaye* 1,053 27.2 –33.4
Green Antony Lowe 538 13.9 +1.0
Labour Kashif Ahmed 360 9.3 –13.6
Labour Lee Dicken 342 8.8 –14.1
Labour Samuel Eathorne 315 8.1 –14.8
Liberal Democrats Peter Lee 217 5.6 +2.1
Turnout 4,283 45.8
Registered electors 9,362
Reform hold
Reform gain from Conservative
Reform gain from Conservative

Chelmsley Wood

[edit]
Chelmsley Wood (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Ian Brown 1,346 53.2 N/A
Reform Michael James 1,279 N/A
Reform Phil Tierney 1,264 N/A
Green Shesh Sheshabhatter* 812 32.0 –24.9
Green April Halpin 771 –26.6
Green Andy Miller 753 –27.3
Conservative Jim Cooper 214 7.8 –7.5
Conservative John Courtenay 190 –8.5
Labour Sally Farrell 190 6.2 –14.7
Conservative Martin Tomlinson 165 –9.5
Labour Elizabeth Thacker 148 –16.4
Labour Lydia Turner 114 –17.8
Liberal Democrats Glenis Slater 64 0.9 –0.4
Turnout 2,536 28.3
Registered electors 8,966
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Dorridge & Hockley Heath

[edit]
Dorridge & Hockley Heath (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sally Tomlinson* 2,940 58.1 –5.7
Conservative Andy Mackiewicz* 2,842 56.2 –7.6
Conservative Paul Whitehouse 2,503 49.5 –14.3
Green Kirsty Mackinlay 969 19.2 +3.5
Reform Alex Insley 962 19.0 N/A
Reform Cameron Hall 950 18.8 N/A
Reform Simon Turner 905 17.9 N/A
Green Peter Sylvester 858 17.0 +1.3
Green James Leah 806 15.9 +0.2
Liberal Democrats David Godfrey 352 7.0 +1.6
Liberal Democrats Christopher Johnson 275 5.4 ±0.0
Labour Tess Green 242 4.8 –10.3
Labour David Brittin 236 4.7 –10.4
Labour James Tisley 188 3.7 –11.4
Independent Luke Edwards 149 2.9 N/A
Turnout 5,196 57.3
Registered electors 9,074
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Elmdon

[edit]
Elmdon (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Laura McCarthy* 1,585 39.0 –0.4
Reform Eleonora Gough 1,498 36.9 N/A
Reform Robert Johnson 1,475 36.3 N/A
Reform Michael Welsh 1,360 33.5 N/A
Liberal Democrats Kate Jones* 1,330 32.7 –6.7
Liberal Democrats Michael Ward 1,244 30.6 –8.8
Conservative Sandra Green 791 19.5 –18.1
Conservative Georgina Hartland 749 18.4 –19.2
Conservative Pav Matharu 635 15.6 –22.0
Green Stephen Holt 345 8.5 +4.0
Green Seren Jones 312 7.7 +3.2
Green Richard Marshall 294 7.2 +2.7
Labour Ian English 206 5.1 –10.0
Labour Rachel Bradburne 201 4.9 –10.2
Labour Paul Maguire 166 4.1 –11.0
Turnout 4,209 44.9
Registered electors 9,373
Liberal Democrats hold
Reform gain from Liberal Democrats
Reform gain from Liberal Democrats

Fordbridge

[edit]
Fordbridge (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Paul Goldingay 1,452 61.9
Reform Samantha Gethen 1,449 61.7
Reform Den O'Neil 1,326 56.5
Conservative David Cole* 470 20.0
Green Henry Bodle 437 18.6
Green Sam Flint 416 17.7
Conservative Jacob Beardmore 361 15.4
Conservative Kamren Grant 340 14.5
Labour Jackie Moore 247 10.5
Labour Ken Harrop 219 9.3
Labour Antony Sangha 176 7.5
Liberal Democrats Tony Ludlow 149 6.3
Turnout 2,612 28.5
Registered electors 9,167
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Kingshurst & Smith's Wood

[edit]
Kingshurst & Smith's Wood (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform Collette Brown 1,590 50.6
Reform Lisa Taylor 1,570
Reform Adrian Stefanovici 1,534
Green Jean Hamilton* 1,061 32.4
Green Dee Boyce 980
Green Mark Wilson* 960
Conservative Georgia Peplow 279 8.3
Conservative Ethan Potter 274
Labour Sarah Alan 257 7.7
Labour Mark Caddick 250
Conservative Sarah Young 219
Labour Hazel Dawkins* 210
Liberal Democrats Katherine Foy 91 1.0
Turnout 3,229 28.4
Registered electors 11,389
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)
Reform win (new seat)

Knowle

[edit]
Knowle (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Dave Pinwell* 2,678 60.1 –7.1
Conservative Yvonne Clements 2,667 59.9 –7.3
Conservative Edward Fitter* 2,508 56.3 –10.9
Reform John Dillon 951 21.4 N/A
Reform Roy England 907 20.4 N/A
Reform Steven Egan 900 20.2 N/A
Green Amy Donohoe-Brown 541 12.1 +2.0
Green Katy Moxley 493 11.1 +1.0
Green Roger Halford 424 9.5 –0.6
Liberal Democrats Lionel King 384 8.6 +1.6
Liberal Democrats Matt Purssell 269 6.0 –1.0
Labour Janet Hall 254 5.7 –10.0
Labour James McLoughlin 212 4.8 –10.9
Labour Zachary Stanier 174 3.9 –11.8
Turnout 4,628 55.2
Registered electors 8,385
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Lyndon

[edit]
Lyndon (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Ade Adeyemo* 1,803 44.8 +8.7
Liberal Democrats Kathryn Thomas* 1,548 38.5 +2.4
Liberal Democrats Paul McCabe 1,421 35.3 –0.8
Reform Mason Beirne 1,379 34.3 N/A
Reform Marie Hawkeswood 1,294 32.1 N/A
Reform Sunanda Sharma 1,118 27.8 N/A
Conservative Kim Dodd 611 15.2 –24.6
Green David Appleby 501 12.4 +6.7
Conservative Danyal Rana 476 11.8 –28.0
Conservative Paula Yates 455 11.3 –28.5
Green Jackie Staite 427 10.6 +4.9
Green Marius Pui 371 9.2 +3.5
Labour Thomas Gilmore 243 6.0 –11.0
Labour Susan Morris 229 5.7 –11.3
Labour Nour Norris OBE 201 5.0 –12.0
Turnout 4,182 41.3
Registered electors 10,122
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Meriden & Arden

[edit]
Meriden & Arden (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Reform David Hoey 1,432 38.9
Conservative Catherine Price 1,425 38.7
Conservative Jane Lamden* 1,418 38.5
Conservative Ciaran O'Neill 1,392 37.8
Reform Claire Kelly 1,378 37.4
Reform Jacqueline Howse 1,364 37.0
Green Paul Day 533 14.5
Green Thomas McElholm 424 11.5
Green Akin Kog 402 10.9
Labour Bob Ryder 295 8.0
Liberal Democrats Zachary Jones 269 7.3
Labour Nosheen Naqvi 255 6.9
Labour Phil Simister 246 6.7
Liberal Democrats Matt Powell 217 5.9
Turnout 3,848 44.8
Registered electors 8,585
Reform win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Olton

[edit]
Olton (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats James Bradley* 1,814 35.9 –8.3
Liberal Democrats Michael Carthew* 1,714 33.9 –10.3
Conservative James Johnson 1,669 33.0 –6.1
Conservative Lachhman Bhambra 1,576 31.2 –7.9
Conservative Wasim Zaman 1,349 26.7 –12.4
Liberal Democrats Richard Evans 1,323 26.2 –18.0
Reform Peter Dixon 1,142 22.6 N/A
Reform Simon Hawker 1,069 21.2 N/A
Reform James Murray 1,034 20.5 N/A
Green Jane Holt 601 11.9 +6.1
Green David James 468 9.3 +3.5
Green Easwar Vivekanandan 433 8.6 +2.8
Labour Jonathan Berg 342 6.8 –4.2
Labour Sarah Shah 231 4.6 –6.4
Labour Ian Jamieson 220 4.4 –6.6
Independent Karima Chaouch 169 3.3 N/A
Turnout 5,253 50.4
Registered electors 10,420
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats

Shirley East & Sharmans Cross

[edit]
Shirley East & Sharmans Cross (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Karen Grinsell* 2,748 52.7
Conservative Annette Mackenzie* 2,639 50.6
Conservative Mark Parker* 2,485 47.7
Reform Peter Byrne 1,118 21.5
Reform Jane Paradine 993 19.1
Reform Richard Whitehouse 973 18.7
Green Srini Eaga 883 16.9
Green Mark Pearson 848 16.3
Green Kushi Maddikunta 760 14.6
Liberal Democrats Roger Gemmell 559 10.7
Liberal Democrats Charles Robinson 549 10.5
Labour Gerard Dufficy 416 8.0
Labour Anthony Howe 360 6.9
Labour Afzal Mirza 300 5.8
Turnout 5,455 49.9
Registered electors 10,928
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Shirley South

[edit]
Shirley South (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Max McLoughlin* 1,895 40.0 Decrease10.3
Green Shahin Ashraf* 1,806 38.1 Decrease12.2
Green Alan Wigley 1,689 35.6 Decrease14.7
Reform Stewart Blunt 1,436 30.3 N/A
Reform Christopher Dean 1,375 29.0 N/A
Conservative Simon Burke 1,329 28.0 Decrease5.5
Reform Daniel Morris 1,300 27.4 N/A
Conservative Howards Nichols 1,226 25.9 Decrease7.6
Conservative Dipesh Chauhan 1,128 23.8 Decrease9.7
Liberal Democrats Jane Carthew 259 5.5 Increase2.1
Labour Joanne Brown 235 5.0 Decrease7.7
Liberal Democrats Jill Ketley 204 4.3 Increase0.9
Labour Stuart Hedley 168 3.5 Decrease9.2
Labour Kevin Raven 168 3.5 Decrease9.2
Turnout 4,947 47.7
Registered electors 10,362
Green hold
Green hold
Green gain from Independent

Shirley West

[edit]
Shirley West (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Prish Sharma* 1,829 36.6 N/A
Reform Sharon O'Connor 1,725 34.5 N/A
Green Alison Wilson* 1,691 33.8 Increase2.9
Green Steve Cauldwell 1,677 33.6 Increase2.7
Green Ben Groom* 1,614 32.3 Increase1.4
Reform Michael Wright 1,611 32.2 N/A
Conservative Chris Smith 1,294 25.9 Decrease16.0
Conservative Manjit Singh 1,237 24.8 Decrease17.1
Conservative Annette Wilcox 1,154 23.1 Decrease18.8
Labour Sheila Brookes 284 5.7 Decrease12.1
Liberal Democrats Frank Dawson 231 4.6 Decrease0.2
Liberal Democrats John Carthew 225 4.5 Decrease0.3
Labour Ann Littley 217 4.3 Decrease13.5
Labour Peter Trigg 198 4.0 Decrease13.8
Turnout 5,219 46.3
Registered electors 11,275
Reform hold
Reform gain from Green
Green hold

Silhill

[edit]
Silhill (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Josh O'Nyons* 2,226 44.0 +2.1
Conservative Hitesh Bikumalla 2,209 43.7 +1.8
Conservative Wazma Qais* 1,963 38.8 –3.1
Reform Michael Gough* 1,427 28.2 N/A
Reform Paul Thompson 1,254 24.8 N/A
Reform Bhavan Pemmaiah 1,140 22.5 N/A
Liberal Democrats Nicola Cadet de Fontenay 763 15.1 +10.3
Liberal Democrats Gayle Monk 676 13.4 +8.6
Green James Henry 661 13.1 –17.8
Green Emma Marshall 648 12.8 –18.1
Liberal Democrats Terry Whitehead 643 12.7 N/A
Green Rosemary Sexton 594 11.7 –19.2
Labour Janet Marsh 376 7.4 –10.4
Labour Nick Stephens 326 6.4 –11.4
Labour Patsy Stone 264 5.2 –12.6
Turnout 5,329 49.9
Registered electors 10,685
Conservative hold
Conservative gain from Reform
Conservative hold

St Alphege with Monkspath & Hillfield

[edit]
St Alphege with Monkspath & Hillfield (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Ken Hawkins 2,939 58.0
Conservative Bob Grinsell* 2,565 50.6
Conservative Sardul Marwa* 2,392 47.2
Reform Patricia Berry 1,415 27.9
Reform Peter Harwood 1,300 25.6
Reform Angela Sandison 1,247 24.6
Liberal Democrats Mark Geary 807 15.9
Green Brian Hunter 719 14.2
Liberal Democrats John Wyatt 608 12.0
Labour Noel Grace 527 10.4
Labour Angela Kikugawa 410 8.1
Labour Paul Tuxworth 278 5.5
Turnout 5,453 52.1
Registered electors 10,464
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Opinion Polls

[edit]
Date(s)
conducted		 Provider Area Lab Con LD Grn Ref Others
March-April 2026 YouGov[10] West Midlands 10% 26% 16% 17% 31% 0%
March-April 2026 Telegraph/JL Partners[11] England 12.3% 34.5% 14.9% 7.9% 27.4% 3.1%
5 May 2022 2022 local elections – 18.7% 50.5% 14.2% 16.1% – 0.3%

Post-election changes

[edit]

Castle Bromwich by-election

[edit]
Castle Bromwich by-election: 26 November 2026[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kashif Ahmed
Independent Qasim Ali
Independent Elliott Astley
Green Dee Boyce
Liberal Democrats Bob Carleton
Restore Michael Craven
Labour Hazel Dawkins
Reform Mark Evans
Labour Tom Gilmore
Independent Michael Gough
Conservative Georgina Hartland
Reform Jacqueline Howse
Liberal Democrats Christopher Johnson
Conservative Martin McCarthy
Independent Bhavan Pemmaiah
Conservative Ethan Potter
Liberal Democrats Matt Purssell
Green Shesh Sheshabhattar
Reform Garry Taylor
Independent Paul Thompson
Green Mark Wilson
Majority
Turnout
Swing
Swing
Swing

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Conservative minority
  1. ↑ | seats_after1 = 24 | swing1 = Decrease 3 "Solihull Council Composition: Latest". opencouncildata.co.uk. Open Council Data UK. Archived from the original on 10 February 2026. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  2. ↑ "Solihull Council Election Countdown 2026 | Every Seat. Every Ward. Your Vote". Solihull Council Election Countdown 2026. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  3. ↑ Greenway, Sam (11 May 2026). "Solihull Council leader still positive despite losing majority". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Greenway, Sam (27 May 2026). "Conservatives fight off Reform UK challenge on key votes in early battles of Solihull Council's new era". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Solihull result - Local Elections 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Greenway, Sam (3 May 2024). "Solihull Council full election results as Conservatives buck national trend". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  7. ↑ Greenway, Sam (25 February 2026). "Solihull councillor makes move to Reform UK". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  8. ↑ "Solihull local council elections | Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council". www.solihull.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  9. ↑ "Local election results 2026". solihull.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "YouGov's MRP of the 2026 local elections shows Reform UK on course for significant gains in the West Midlands". YouGov. 28 April 2026. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "Labour set to lose control in Wales for first time". Telegraph. 14 April 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  12. ↑ https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/local.solihull.castle-bromwich.by.2026-11-26/castle-bromwich/
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