The Conservatives in Walsall are totally divided and out of ideas.

Full statement

Your vote will decide whether our town suffers years of further decline under a clapped-out Conservative run council, or a new modern fresh start under REFORM UK.

The elections on 7 May 2026 really matter. These are the most important elections in over 20 years with all 60 council seats on Walsall Council up for election at the same time. You can change every councillor all in one go. You can vote for three candidates in every ward so use your three votes to vote for all three Reform UK candidates.

The Conservatives running Walsall Council have been in power for most of the last 20 years. Do you think things have got better or worse in that time?

No matter who you’ve voted for in the past, if you want pride, care, honesty and integrity restored in our town, the only option is to vote for REFORM UK. These are our values.

So in Short Heath vote for myself, Elaine Williams and our other two candidates, Rohan Beecha and Bella Simon.

10 reasons to vote for us at the all-out elections on 7th May 2026

REFORM in Walsall will:

1. Extend brown bin garden waste collections into December. Currently collections finish too soon in early Autumn before all the leaves from the trees have fallen.

2. Deploy additional cover and overt CCTV for each ward to tackle crime, anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping. You can tell your REFORM councillor where you want cameras located in your area and we will endeavour to make it happen.

3. Expand fly-tipping and litter enforcement. We understand Walsall Council is issuing less than half the number of littering fines compared to when this was contracted out to a company called ‘Kingdom’.  REFORM will use existing powers to seize the vehicles of fly-tippers. REFORM will pursue duty of care prosecutions where the owner of the rubbish, not the tipper is fined. This will be done by searches of tipped rubbish. We understand Walsall Council has never had a duty of care conviction for fly-tipping,  although neighbouring authorities have had many. See link to article for an example of a neighbouring local authority’s stance on fly-tipping https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2026/04/01/car-seized-after-investigation-into-lichfield-fly-tipping-incident/

4. Overhaul planning in Walsall following the damming report into how planning operates in Walsall. REFORM will end the way in which questionable planning decisions are made in Walsall by implementing the recommendations of the Planning Service Peer Challenge Review - planning needs to change. Did you know that Walsall Council received 585 complaints regarding breaches of planning regulations between 06/04/2024 and 05/04/2025 but only 7 of these complaints resulted in planning enforcement actions being carried out in Walsall. Furthermore, every time the Planning Inspectorate overturns an incorrect decision made by councillors, it costs Walsall taxpayers. The figure of £66,000 mentioned in the Planning Service Peer Challenge Review related to only one single application back in 2022. So how much more money has been spent? Walsall Council rejected a Freedom of Information request to say how many councillors had undertaken bribery and corruption training. You have to ask why?  REFORM will take enforcement action, and all REFORM councillors will do bribery and corruption training so that they are aware of how to combat these issues.

5. Determine the true facts regarding Walsall Leather Museum. REFORM intervened successfully to obtain listed building status, and we will do everything within our power to restore the museum to its existing site. Did you know the Conservatives claimed closing the museum would save £190,000 per year, yet they then bought another building for £725,000 that still requires fitting out and operating? You have to ask why they did this and what is going on?

6. Direct that Net Zero madness ends at Walsall Council. Did you know the Conservatives running Walsall Council have (as of 24 November 2025) spent over £23.462 million of your money in pursuit of net zero by 2041? REFORM will end this madness. No country ever got wealthier by artificially increasing the cost of energy, it is as simple as that.

7. Launch a review into the house building planned for the greenbelt all around Walsall to see how brownfield sites might be better utilised. Did you know the Conservatives in Walsall are campaigning to save the green belt but planned to build on many of the same sites themselves in 2021-22 under the Black Country Plan. You can find further details of this on our Facebook page.

8. Maintain support, show pride and care for our history and heritage. REFORM will play the National Anthem before full council meetings and approve the financial support to continue funding Remembrance Sunday Parade traffic management across the Borough of Walsall. We will also recruit ex-Services personnel through the Career Transition Partnership. The Union Flag, Flag of St George and Black Country flag will fly outside the Council Depot.

9. Introduce meet the Council Leader events around Walsall where you will be able to meet the leader of the Council to express your views and opinions. REFORM will keep you updated by social media and email as to our progress. You will find a new modern, respectful, listening and professional approach to running Walsall council. Did you know the council has rejected a freedom of information request as to how many complaints have been received and any punishments given in relation to Councillor Mike Bird?

10. Prepare a balanced financial budget for the council focusing spending on the areas that matter to you. Did you know Walsall Council spends £33,109.59 (information correct as of 9 October 2025) on interest every single day of the year servicing the debts the council has? £33,109.59 is more than employing a street cleaning operative for a whole year. Did you know that the Saddlers Centre is losing approximately £2.5 million pounds a year, yet the Conservatives allowed Marks and Spencer to surrender their lease. Similar units command rents in excess of £1-1.5 million per year, yet this rent was lost increasing the losses. REFORM will also abolish one of the two positions of Deputy Leader (which is a rare arrangement in local government) that the Conservatives created because of Covid. This will immediately save £23,979 per annum.