Walsall Council election: Full list of candidates standing for this year's vote

The ruling Conservative group will be hoping to extend its dominance of the authority, which until recently has traditionally been a closely run contest between red and blue.

The Tories now hold 37 of the 60 seats available, ahead of Labour on 19 councillors and two independents.

This year's poll will see two seats contested in Willenhall South following the conviction of disgraced former council leader Sean Coughlan for child sex offences.

Meanwhile voters in Pleck will try again to elect a councillor following a botched by-election in December which cost taxpayers £20,000.

Labour’s winning candidate Simran Cheema was unable to take up the post – which was due for election in May anyway – as she had been employed by the council at the time of her nomination.

She is standing in Willenhall South this time around, where Sean Coughlan's wife, Diane Coughlan, is standing down.

A number of high profile councillors are bidding for re-election, including Walsall Labour group leader Aftab Nawaz in St Matthews and Mayor Rose Burley in Bentley and Darlaston North.

The Conservatives enter the election as a power struggle rages behind the scenes, with leader Mike Bird understood to be facing a challenge led by Suky Samra, who is defending his Streetly seat next month.

One casualty of the row has been Aldridge Central and South councillor John Murray, who was deselected for Bobby Bains and will now contest Brownhills in place of current cabinet member Stephen Craddock.

Cabinet member Chris Towe is defending his Pheasey Park Farm seat having reportedly been deselected by the local party before being reinstated.

The turmoil – which is understood to have spilled over into court battles – is mirrored by the goings on in the Labour group.

Under leader Mr Nawaz, the party had hoped to capitalise on the Tories struggles nationally and had targeted up to six seats, including both Bloxwich seats, Willenhall North and Short Heath.

However, ambitions are understood to have taken a serious knock after Labour's National Executive Committee took over candidate selections amid claims of a fractured relationship between Walsall South MP Valerie Vaz and Councillor Nawaz.

The move has resulted in a number of selections that were against branch wishes, prompting some Labour members to leave the party.

They include Shamim Ahmed, the former Palfrey branch chair who is now standing as an independent in the ward against Labour candidate Shakila Hussain.

Two other independent candidates are thought to have strong chances.

Dave Taylor is standing in Blakenall after quitting the Labour Party he has spent years campaigning for, calling his old party "an utter shambles" in Walsall.

And Sharon Felton, who runs Darlaston Town Hall, is hoping to topple Councillor Burley in Bentley and Darlaston North.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, are thought to be confident of building on what they have. A key target is said to be Birchills-Leamore, where Tina Jukes is standing for Labour, having lost her seat there last year.

The count is due to take place on May 6 at Walsall's Civic Centre. Results are expected to be declared that afternoon.

Current state of play: Cons majority administration – Cons (37), Lab (19), Indep (2).

Results last time these seats were contested in 2018 (includes one by-election): Cons (13), Lab (7), Indep (1).

Seats up for grabs: 21 (including one by-election).

*denotes party that won seat in 2018

Aldridge Central and South:

Bobby Bains (Cons)*

Kathryn Smith (Lab)

Aldridge North and Walsall Wood:

Michael Bruce (Lab)

Anthony Harris (Cons)*

Bentley and Darlaston North:

Rose Burley (Lab)*

Sharon Felton (Indep)

Saghir Mohammed (Cons)

Birchills-Leamore:

Tina Jukes (Lab)*

Amy Read (Cons)

Elaine Williams (Reform)

Blakenall:

Izzy Hussain (Cons)

Dave Taylor (Indep)

Matt Ward (Lab)*

Bloxwich East:

Ben Hodges (Lib Dem)

Adam Mohammed (Lab)

Mark Statham (Cons)*

Bloxwich West:

Michael Coulson (Lab)

Louise Harrison (Cons)*

Brownhills:

Lee Chapman (Indep)

Emma Morgan (Lab)

John Murray (Cons)*

Darlaston South:

Paul Bott (Lab)

Manju Gill (Cons)

*won by Paul Bott as an indep in 2018

Paddock:

Daniel Barker (Lib Dem)

Rishi Sharma (Lab)

Gurmeet Singh Sohal (Cons)*

Palfrey:

Shamim Ahmed (Indep)

Shakila Hussain (Lab)*

Moz Khan (Cons)

Pelsall:

Graham Eardley (Reform)

Patti Lane (Lab)

Edward Lee (Cons)*

Pheasey Park Farm:

Matthew Barker (Lib Dem)

Hannah Jones (Lab)

Chris Towe (Cons)*

Pleck:

Leyoh Goodall (Cons)

Ram Mehmi (Lab)*

Rushall-Shelfield:

Jade Davies (Indep)

David Morgan (Lab)

Vera Waters (Cons)*

Short Heath:

Amandeep Garcha (Cons)*

Simon Rollason (Lab)

Mohammed Yaqub (Lib Dem)

St Matthews:

Aftab Nawaz (Lab)*

Vandana Sharma (Cons)

Roger Watts (Lib Dem)

Streetly:

Jennifer Gray (Lib Dem)

Eileen Russell (Lab)

Suky Samra (Cons)*

Willenhall North:

Stuart Hodges (Lib Dem)

Lee Jeavons (Lab)

Rob Larden (Cons)*

Willenhall South (two seats):

Simran Cheema (Lab)*

Poonam Gill (Cons)

Angela Hodges (Lib Dem)

Connor Horton (Lab)

Tony Sadler (Cons)