The West Midlands
Labour Party mayoral selection of 2016 was the process by which the Labour Party selected its candidate for
Mayor of the West Midlands
The mayor of the West Midlands is a directly elected political post who chairs the West Midlands Combined Authority, covering the local authorities serving Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
The most ...
, to stand in the
mayoral election on 4 May 2017.
The selection took place amid the backdrop of the
2016 Labour Leadership election, with Simon being a close friend and ally of
Tom Watson, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, who had been calling for incumbent Labour Leader
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
to step down. Steve Bedser pitched to Corbyn supporters, expressing his support for Corbyn, whilst simultaneously stating that Corbyn needed to improve his performance.
On 10 August 2016, Simon was announced as the winning candidate.
Candidates
Not selected
*
Najma Hafeez, management consultant, former Birmingham City Councillor and former Chairwoman of
City Hospital
* Milkinder Jaspal,
Wolverhampton City Council
City of Wolverhampton Council is the local authority for the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. Wolverhampton has had an elected local authority since 1848, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has be ...
lor
[
* Mary Simons-Jones, freelance book-seller][
]
Declined
* Ian Austin
Ian Christopher Austin, Baron Austin of Dudley (born 6 March 1965) is a British politician who sits as a life peer in the House of Lords. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dudley North from the 2005 general election until the 2019 gen ...
, MP for Dudley North Dudley North may refer to:
*Dudley North, 3rd Baron North (1581–1666), English nobleman and politician
*Dudley North, 4th Baron North (1602–1677), English nobleman and politician, son of the above
*Sir Dudley North (economist) (1641&ndas ...
since 2005, and former Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister under Gordon Brown.Liam Byrne
Liam Dominic Byrne (born 2 October 1970) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North, previously Birmingham Ho ...
, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill
Birmingham Hodge Hill was a constituency of part of the city of Birmingham represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2004 to 2024 by Liam Byrne of the Labour Party.
Under the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituenci ...
, and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury under Gordon Brown.Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, or Sandwell Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government servic ...
, was perceived as a potential candidate before his sudden death in March 2016.Gisela Stuart
Gisela Stuart, Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston (''née'' Gschaider; born 26 November 1955) is a British-German politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1997 to 2017. A former member of the La ...
, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston
Birmingham Edgbaston is a constituency, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Preet Gill, a Labour Co-op MP.
The most high-profile MP for the constituency was former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (1937–19 ...
, Chair of Vote Leave
Vote Leave was a campaigning organisation that supported a "Leave" vote in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. On 13 April 2016 it was designated by the Electoral Commission as the official campaign in favour of leavi ...
and former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health.
Membership ballot
The results of the selection were announced on 10 August 2016. A total of 3,817 valid votes were cast.
See also
* Greater Manchester Labour Party mayoral selection, 2016
* Liverpool City Region Labour Party mayoral selection, 2016
* London Labour Party mayoral selection, 2015
The London Labour Party mayoral selection of 2015 was the process by which the Labour Party selected its candidate for Mayor of London, to stand in the 2016 London mayoral election, mayoral election on 5 May 2016. It was the first Mayoral select ...
References
{{reflist
Labour Party (UK) primaries
Elections in the West Midlands (county)
2010s in the West Midlands (county)