Watch: Birmingham politics expert gives his verdict on Andy Street's re-election as West Midlands Mayor

Conservative candidate Andy Street surprised many when he first secured victory in the mayoral race in West Midlands in 2017. As the upcoming election draws near in May, he has sought to downplay his connection to his political party. However, it appears that this link might lead to some complications for his campaign.

Associate Professor Steve McCabe of Birmingham City University offers an interesting perspective. He says, "Well it's an interesting one. Clearly, if we take Street, he has a lot of respect, people recognise him, he has a lot of credibility and seems to be someone with integrity.

“But when it comes down to it, people, when they get into the polling booth, they see the parties and they are still very tribal. Personality plays a part, and again, Street is not as unpopular as the National Conservative Party, which is the party of government led by Rishi Sunak. There is a view that if the locals go badly and indeed Street goes, that's a bellwether of how bad things are going to be.”

A poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton reveals that Street, as the Conservative candidate, garners 28 per cent of the votes, a considerable dip from his 49 per cent in 2021. Richard Parker, the Labour candidate, has seen an increase from three years ago, now standing at 42 per cent, up from Liam Byrne's 40 per cent. However, a more recent poll by Electoral Maps has Street inching forward, leading by two percent.

McCabe comments, "Mayoral elections are hard to call, but of course the context is we're in an election year. The national polls are showing the national party or the Conservative Party, the government way, way behind, so that's a sense Street can draw some comfort as he's more popular than the national Conservative Party.

“One suspects that this opinion poll is correct and certainly the last time it showed him with a really decent lead and that's how he won, although it was a different voting system. I suspect that Andy Street may be looking for new opportunities come May the 3rd.”

The list of mayoral candidates for this year's election includes:

• Richard Parker - Labour
• Andy Street - Conservative
• Elaine Williams - Reform UK
• Siobhan Harper-Noones - Greens
• Sunny Virk - Liberal Democrats
• Akhmed Yakoob - Independent

Andy Street has actively sought to dissociate himself from the national reputation of the Conservatives. He has even stated that 'people are fed up of Westminster.' Whether or not this strategy will be effective in the upcoming mayoral elections in May remains to be seen.