In a night of stunning election successes in the West Midlands, the Green Party broke through on to a new council, and made national news by erasing the Tory majority on another.
Some highlights:
- Neil Laurenson was re-elected in Worcester's St Stephen ward, whilst Louis Stephen became the second Green councillor on Worcester city council. Stephen defeated his Tory opponent in Battenhall ward, removing their council majority. The Worcester Green Party now holds the balance of power in a no-overall-control council.
- Paul Woodhead became the first Green ever elected onto Cannock Chase District Council, only a year and a half after helping to found the local party.
- Keith Kondakor was re-elected in Nuneaton and Bedworth's Weddington ward. The Green Party has won Weddington in every election since 2012 (2012, 2014 and 2016, borough, 2013 county elections).
- Paul Andrew finished second in Coventry's Holbrook ward, the highest ever result by the Greens in that city.
In Solihull, the Greens retained the opposition to the Solihull Tories, moving from 8 councillors to 10 councillors.
Cllr James Burn, Opposition Leader for the Solihull Greens, said:
"In each of the four wards in Solihull that we won, we had the highest ever vote share for a Green candidate, including a whopping 75% in Chelmsley Wood.
"The biggest result of the night was Max McLoughlin winning Shirley South in a recount, beating a former mayor.
"In Solihull, the only party to increase its number of seats was the Green Party. All the others remained the same or lost seats."
"These results are a clear signal from voters that they want more balance and accountability on Solihull Council, and that they trust the Green Party to continue to provide constructive opposition."