Labour loses control of Birmingham with Reform and pro-Gaza independents poised to shatter party’s dominance of crisis-hit City Council

Labor has lost Birmingham Council after 14 disastrous years on the council.

The party feared a tough day in Britain’s second city; current results showed it had won fewer than 20 seats out of the 65 it won in the last election in 2022.

Since then, the Labor Party-led administration in the city has lurched from crisis to crisis, declaring virtual bankruptcy in 2023 and presiding over a year-long bin strike that has left mountains of rubbish on the streets.

Birmingham Northfield MP Larry Turner conceded Labor’s defeat just before 3pm, telling ITV News: ‘It looks like we’re heading towards an era in opposition.’

A few hours later, outgoing Labor leader John Cotton also conceded defeat and said he expected to lose his seat.

Oddly, he told the Mail the party’s problem was not the times of disaster when they were responsible for the city, but the messaging.

He said: ‘I think we need to listen carefully to the message voters are giving us today and think about how we can start to tell the story of the great things the Labor government has done in a more coherent and systematic way.’

With 83 of 101 seats now declared, the council appears hopelessly divided with no overall control.

Reform England has won 21 seats so far, the Conservative Party has won 16 seats and Labor has won 13 seats. Independent candidates won 10 seats, including several sectarian Muslim candidates, the youngest of whom, Mansuur Ahmed, was only 19 years old.

Despite keeping pace with the Reform and Conservatives in the initial results, the mood among Labor figures at the count at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena quickly turned somber.

A Labor Party source said earlier today they feared speculation that it would face a ‘dustbin fire’ in its fight to retain a significant number of seats on Birmingham City Council may prove true.

The source tipped Reform UK, the Greens and independent candidates to be successful, adding: ‘Let’s just say I haven’t seen anyone who looks even remotely happy.

‘His mood is worse than bad. The weather is gloomy.”

Voters turned against Labor on some issues, including a bin strike that left piles of rubbish on the streets

Polls this week suggested Reform, although not in a majority, could emerge as the biggest party in the city, while Labor could be in danger of extinction.

Muslim sectarian independents, who created a wave of discontent in Muslim-majority wards due to the conflict in Gaza, are expected to finish the day as one of the largest blocs in the council.

Deputy Reform leader Richard Tice told the Mail at the count that the party was ‘absolutely crushing’ the party in the West Midlands, but predicted it would be ‘very tight’ in Birmingham.

He said Labor was ‘guaranteed’ to have a humiliating day in Birmingham.

Commenting on the rise of the independents, Mr Tice said: ‘This shows huge demographic change in some of our cities, big towns, with no democratic mandate from the British people.

‘I think it’s a great shame that local elections, which are vital to better governing Birmingham, are being dominated in some areas by Middle Eastern geopolitics.

‘This is embarrassing at best and most people would say it’s not true.’

One of the most controversial independent candidates in the election was Shahid Butt, a convicted terrorist who was jailed in 1999 for plotting to blow up the British consulate in Yemen.

But he conceded defeat in Sparkhill before the result was announced and told the Mail he believed Labor would retain the seat.

‘From what I see, we (Labor Party) have sort of figured this out,’ he said. ‘Labour’s big protest vote went to the Greens. In my ward Labor certainly enjoyed a vote bank. This is blind loyalty.’

In the event, independent candidates Mohammed Jamil Khan and Raihaan Abbas emerged victorious with 1,945 and 1,622 votes respectively.