RECAP | Midlands local election results 2026

Polling has now closed for local elections across the Midlands, with voters in 13 local authority areas set to elect new local councillors.

Results continued to roll in throughout the day, with early indications suggesting a bruising election for Kier Starmer’s Labour Party, who are predicted to have made heavy losses across the country.

Overnight polls confirmed a bleak picture for Labour and the Conservatives as Reform surged in several Midlands heartlands early on, taking control of Newcastle-under-Lyme in the early hours before making huge gains in Tamworth, Redditch and Dudley.

As results trickle in ahead of the weekend all eyes will be on Birmingham, the largest local authority in Europe, which Nigel Farage’s Reform party had earmarked as a key battleground ahead of the election.

Newcastle-under-Lyme (Reform GAIN from Conservative)

Reform has won its first English local council of this year’s elections in Staffordshire, winning 27 of the 44 seats available on the council.

Labour lost a total of 17 seats while the Conservatives lost 10 to lose overall control of the authority.

Tamworth (Labour LOSS to no overall control)

In Tamworth, Reform also made significant gains as the council slipped from Labour into no overall control.

Only nine seats were up for election but Reform won them all, taking six from the Conservatives, two from Labour and one previously independent.

Labour remains the largest party in the council with 14 seats.

Dudley (Remains under no overall control)

Dudley Council remained under no overall control despite a historic night for Reform, who became the second largest party on the council.

A total of 25 seats out of 72 were up for grabs, with Reform taking 22 of them, mostly from Conservative incumbents. The tories hung on in Halesowen North as well as Kingswinford North & Wall Heath, while Labour were re-elected in St Thomas’s.

The conservatives remain the largest party on the council with 27 seats.

Redditch (Labour LOSS to no overall control)

Labour lost overall control of Redditch, an authority it gained from the Conservatives in 2024, as Reform’s surge continued across the region.

Only a third of seats in Redditch were up for grabs, but the Reform Party took eight of the nine available wards to become the main opposition to Labour on the council.

Despite its historic surge, which saw turnout of more than 1,000 in some wards, Reform remains some way behind Labour’s 13 seats on the authority.

Cannock Chase (Labour LOSS to no overall control)

Cannock Chase became the latest Labour council to slip from their grasp, with a Reform surge taking all 13 of the seats on offer.

Reform are now the largest party on Cannock Chase with 14 seats, with Labour and the Conservatives losing eight and three seats respectively. Two former Green Party seats also fell to reform.

Nuneaton & Bedworth (Labour LOSS to no overall control)

In line with results elsewhere, Reform swept the board at Nuneaton, taking 15 of the 19 seats up for grabs and becoming the largest party on the authority ahead of Labour.

Labour and the Conservatives both lost eight seats as the council slipped into no overall majority, including the seat of former council leader Steve Hey. The Green Party gained one seat, taking their total to three councillors.

Lincoln City (Labour HOLD)

Bucking a national trend slightly, Labour hung on to Lincoln City Council, successfully fending off the challenge of Reform in all but three of the 11 seats being decided.

Labour saw its majority drop but it successfully retained the 17 seats needed to keep hold of the authority.

North East Lincolnshire (No overall control)

Reform surged in North East Lincolnshire to take 14 of the 15 seats up for grabs in the constituency.

The result leaves Reform as the largest party on the council with 14 seats, four ahead of Labour, who are now the second-largest party after the Conservatives lost all nine of the seats they were contesting.

Wolverhampton (Labour HOLD)

Reform became the second largest party in Wolverhampton after winning the majority of the 21 seats being contested in the city.

With only a third of wards being contested, Labour were never going to lose their thumping overall majority, but they lost 11 seats to Reform despite hanging on in six.

The Conservatives also held onto three seats, but lost one to Reform.

Rugby (No overall control)

Rugby saw a Reform and Liberal Democrat surge as the Tories and Labour both lost three seats.

The Lib Dems became the second-largest party on the council with 12 seats while Reform picked up their first three councillors.

Solihull (Conservative LOSS no overall majority)

Voters in Solihull continued the trend as a wave of Reform wins swept the West Midlands, the authority slipping from Conservative to control to no overall majority as Reform took 17 seats on the council to become the second largest party.

While the Conservative party remained as the largest voting block on the council with 24 seats, it was the Greens who suffered most, losing seven seats to cut its number of councillors to four.

Conservative leader Karen Grinsell said the Tories would form a minority administration to run the authority in the wake of the election, calling the poll a “positive result” for the party.

Sandwell (Reform GAIN from Labour)

Nigel Farage’s party took 41 seats in Sandwell to end Labour’s 47-year stint in control of the authority and cause one of the most seismic shifts in power of the election.

It was a good night for the Greens too, taking their first two seats on the authority, but Labour suffered the same bruising fate as many of their colleagues across the country, dropping a remarkable 37 seats.

As little more than an interesting footnote, the Conservatives were completely wiped out in the area, losing all six of their seats.

Walsall (Reform GAIN from Conservative)

Conservative council leader Mike Bird lost his seat as Reform swept to power in Walsall, taking 40 of the 60 seats up for grabs in the borough.

Bird told the BBC that he felt people voting on national issues had been key to his party’s demise, adding that he felt the campaign had been “toxic” in Walsall.

“It’s the worst campaign I’ve fought in 50 years, Personal attacks, vindictive individuals, it’s disappointing really,” he said.

The Tories lost 28 seats while Labour also suffered heavy losses, retaining just one of their 19 wards on the council.

Birmingham (Labour LOSS to no overall control)

Control of Europe’s largest local authority slipped from Labour’s grasp for the first time in nearly 15 years, as both the Green Party and Reform made gains in what was viewed before the election as a key battleground.

With six seats still be be declared at 10.30pm, it was clear that no party would win a clear majority, Labour dropping an astonishing 41 seats while the Conservatives dropped five seats to potentially slip to the fourth largest party on the council due to gains made by others.

Reform mopped up 21 seats while the Greens also made huge gains, taking 17 wards. Independent councillors were also elected to ten seats on the new council.

Attention will now turn to which parties might form an administration to run the council, with the Lib Dems – potential kingmakers after holding on to 12 seats – ruling out any deal with Reform to form a coalition in the immediate aftermath of the poll.