Local elections to go ahead in Black Country and Staffordshire
Local elections are set to go ahead in the Black Country and Staffordshire – but voters will have to bring their own pencil under Covid-19 rules.
The Cabinet Office confirmed Covid-secure polls would be held as planned despite fears the pandemic would lead to them being delayed again.
It means elections for councils along with mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections will go ahead on May 6 – dubbed "Super Thursday".
In the Black Country, voters will head to the polls to elect councillors to their local council as well as electing the next Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).
Elections will be going ahead for Wolverhampton Council, Sandwell Borough Council, Dudley Council and Walsall Council and also Wyre Forest District Council.
Current PCC David Jamieson is set to stand down – with Labour's Simon Foster, Conservative Jay Singh-Sohal, Lib Dem Jon Hunt and independent Julie Hambleton in the running.
Meanwhile voters will also elect the next West Midlands Mayor, with current Conservative mayor Andy Street up against Labour's Birmingham Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne.
Other candidates include two-time Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Jenny Wilkinson and the Green Party's Solihull Borough Council group leader Councillor Steve Caudwell.
Meanwhile, in Staffordshire, voters will head to the polls to elect councillors to Staffordshire County Council, Cannock Chase District Council, and Creswell Parish Council in Stafford.
Lichfield District Council, which has an election every four years and last held one in 2019 like Stafford Borough Council, will hold a by-election in the Summerfield and All Saints ward for a district councillor.
Voters will also be electing the Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, with current Conservative representative Matthew Ellis stepping down from his role. Conservative candidate Ben Adams is in the running against Labour's Tony Kearon.
Priority
Under new voting rules – due to Covid 19 – voters will have to wear face coverings inside polling stations and will be asked to bring their own pen or pencil to mark their ballot.
And proxy voting rules will be changed so that people who have to self-isolate can request an emergency proxy vote up to 5pm on polling day.
The Cabinet Office said all nine "priority cohorts" – covering those aged 50 and over – are expected to have received coronavirus vaccines by May, meaning the Government can commit "with confidence" to the polls going ahead.
The scale of "Super Thursday" means that every voter in Great Britain will be able to take part in at least one type of poll, making it the biggest event of its kind outside a general election.
It will also be the first big electoral test for Sir Keir Starmer since he became Labour leader in April last year – and for Prime Minister Boris Johnson since his general election victory in December 2019.
Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith said: "We are publishing a detailed plan to deliver May's elections in a safe and secure way.
"This is backed up by additional funding for councils, and practical changes to electoral laws to help both voters and candidates.
"Democracy should not be cancelled because of Covid. More than ever, local people need their say as we build back better, on issues ranging from local roads, to safer streets, to the level of council tax.
"As the Government rolls out the vaccine to the most vulnerable, we will be able to leave lockdown and open our country up safely again. We will work with political parties to ensure that these important elections are free and fair."
