Birmingham & Black Country

Local elections 2026
Local elections 2026

City's new independents: 'People are fed up of mainstream parties'

Birmingham City Council has 14 Independents among its 101 members following last week's vote.
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  1. A McDonald’s restaurant with a small car park and a white entrance with columns at the front.

  2. A man with short hair slightly smiles and looks at the camera. He is wearing a sport top and has his fist raised to the side. He is wearing a silver ring on one of his fingers.

  3. A brick wall painted with turquoise murals with the words Stay Wild in black lettering on a turquoise background on either side of a shuttered metal door covered in graffiti

  4. A man with short brown hair and a beard is wearing a dark-coloured raincoat. Behind him a wooden fence, a section of which is missing. There is a tree behind part of the fence and a building which appears to be boarded up.

  5. A police woman is walking alongside a security guard. The police officer wears a hat and her hair in a black claw clip while the security guard is bald but has tattoos on his head, and both forearms. He wears a black t-shirt and black body vest.

  6. Councillor Simran Cheema stood smiling in a park. She has long shoulder length brown hair, wears red lipstick and a double breasted black coat.

  7. A woman with long dark hair, wearing red lipstick and a black coat stands in front of a green space with trees and shrubs behind her

  8. A young man with a black polo shirt and a lanyard saying Nechells stands on a gallery of an exhibition hall with long white tables on the lower level where people sit counting. He has black hair and is smiling.

  9. Noddy Holder in a tweed flat cap, glasses and a jacket has his eyes closed as he leans his head towards Tom Seals who also has his eyes closed and is wearing a black quarter zip jumper. He is holding a red sign that reads: Shhh... I'm still in the land of nod

  10. A group of men sitting around a long table. In front of them are dolls' heads attached to the tables, each with different colour hair. There is hairspray, brushes and clips on the table and the dads are playing with the hair.

  11. Iqbal Mohammed and Abdul Rehman stand on the steps of Birmingham Magistrates' Court standing side-by-side. They both wear suits. Behind them you can see the doors of the court and the red bricks in an ornate arch over the doorway.

  12. A grassy field seen from a road. It is a slope, with trees in the distance. The sky is blue.

  13. A man stands in a city square. He is wearing a navy jacket, grey shirt and maroon tie. He has spiky brown hair and manicured beard. He is looking to the right of the camera at something. Passers-by can be seen in the square behind him, the Bank pub, a Caffe Nero and grassy areas. It is a sunny day.

  14. A block of brown chocolate with a purple sign behind which reads Cadbury in gold writing

  15. Sir Keir Starmer has a serious expression and is looking at the camera. He has short grey hair and is wearing black-framed glasses, a black suit and white shirt.

  16. A balding man with a beard sat in a white armchair chatting to other men. He is wearing a blue blazer, grey trousers, blue shirt and claret tie

  17. A man with a bald head and a faint beard with a grey jacket and white shirt in front of a blurred background

  18. A WMR Class 730 train can be seen on tracks. It has several carriages with orange and maroon livery and black front end.

  19. A woman in a hospital bed. She is wearing a head scarf and glasses and a stripe white and brown t-shirt.

  20. A man with ginger hair looking solemn, wearing a red and yellow 'Vote Labour' rosette.

  21. A woman with blonde hair wearing a long dress and light jacket stands near the prince who is wearing a suit and red tie and talking. Between them is a photo of a young man. There is also a gold plaque which says James' Place.

  22. A police car is parked partly on a kerb outside a building in a street. There are dark benches outside, with blue and white police tape in front of them. Two officers are standing outside brown doors.

  23. Paulette Hamilton pictured against a grey background. She is wearing a green pattered shirt underneath a blue blazer and dark-framed glasses. Her dreadlocks are pinned in a high-side bun.

  24. Noel Kelly pictured with a neutral expression on his face. He is wearing a black body warmer on top of a long sleeved blue shirt.