New Year Honours List 2025: Every person in West Midlands & Birmingham to be recognised - full list
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
The New Year’s Honours List for 2025 has been revealed, celebrating the incredible public service of individuals from across the UK.
Recipients in King Charles’ New Year Honours List have been awarded for their outstanding contributions to areas including sustained public service, the arts, youth engagement and community work.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe system strives to be inclusive of all of the UK society and of the 1,227 people on the main list who received an award, 48 per cent are women, and 13.8 per cent come from an ethnic minority background.
The local names included for 2025
Recipients from the West Midlands make up five per cent of the total number of recipients receiving honours this year.
Former West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has been knighted this year. He served two terms as mayor before losing the last election to Labour’s Richard Parker.
Balbir Singh Khanpur from Smethwick receives a BEM for services to Bhangra Music and to Punjabi Culture in the West Midlands.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHe is a world-renowned bhangra artist and one of the most important contributors to the UK’s Asian music scene.


Full West Midlands list
- Dr Andrew John Street CBE. Lately Mayor, West Midlands. For Public Service. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
- Dr Fazal Dad. Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Blackburn College, Lancashire. For services to Further Education. (Dudley, West Midlands)
- Michael David Lewis. Chief Executive Officer, Uniper Energy. For services to Energy Security and Net Zero. (Solihull, West Midlands)
- Professor Paul Michael Stewart FMedSci. Professor of Medicine, University of Leeds. For services to Medical Science. (Solihull, West Midlands)
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
- Dr Alan James Belfield FREng. Lately Business Co-Chair, Professional Business Services Council and lately Chair, Arup. For services to Business. (Solihull, West Midlands)
- Michael Thomas Donoghue. Chief Executive Officer, John Taylor Multi-Academy Trust, Staffordshire. For services to Education. (Walsall, West Midlands)
- Tully Alicia Jacqueline Kearney MBE. For services to Swimming. (Walsall, West Midlands)
- Professor Yaojun Li. Professor of Sociology, University of Manchester. For services to the Advancement of Knowledge in Social Mobility and to Ethnic Integration. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Mandeep Kaur Sanghera. Project Manager and Philanthropist, Coventry. For services to Refugee Resettlement. (Coventry, West Midlands)
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
- Professor Vladlena Benson. Professor Aston Business School, Cyber Security Innovation Research Centre. For services to Cyber Security. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Esther Mary Brittan. For voluntary and charitable services to Young People. (Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands)
- Marimouttou Coumarassamy. Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, and Founder and Chair, British Indian Nurse Association. For services to Supporting International Nurses. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Marie-Claire Darke. Councillor, City of Wolverhampton Council. For services to Local Government, to Disability and to Suicide Prevention. (Wolverhampton, West Midlands)
- Gareth Hopkins. Apprenticeship Programme Manager, Forestry Commission. For services to Forestry. (Coventry, West Midlands)
- Peter Cecil How. For voluntary and philanthropic services to Music. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Jacynth Althea Ivey. Board Member, NHS Race and Health Observatory. For services to Nursing. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Rabiyah Kauser Latif. Near Neighbours Coordinator, Thrive Together Birmingham. For services to Faith and Community Cohesion. (Walsall, West Midlands)
- Tracy Marie Lowe. Founder, Wallace Youth Project. For services to Young People. (Oldbury, West Midlands)
- Janet Mary McConkey. Chair, Coventry Boot Fund. For services to Vulnerable Children and Families in Coventry. (Coventry, West Midlands)
- Michael Andrew Oakes. Chair, National Dairy Board, National Farmers' Union. For services to Dairy Farming. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Professor Gavin David Perkins. Dean of Medicine, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick. For services to Resuscitation Science. (Solihull, West Midlands)
- Ishaque Benny Aslam Rafiqi. Founder, Let's Feed Brum and Tabor House. For services to Tackling Homelessness and to the community in Birmingham and the West Midlands. (Bromsgrove, Worcestershire)
- Kenneth Upton. Advocate, Talking Sense, West Midlands. For services to Families of Children with Special Education Needs. (Walsall, West Midlands)
- Patricia Ann White. Chief Executive Officer, Suited for Success. For services to Unemployed People in Birmingham. (Halesowen, West Midlands)
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
- Mirza Khudadad Ahmed. Immigration Officer, Home Office. For Public Service. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Michelle Hawkins. Foster Carer, Fostering Solutions, West Midlands. For services to Foster Care. (Burntwood, Staffordshire)
- Simon Hawkins. Foster Carer, Fostering Solutions, West Midlands. For services to Foster Care. (Burntwood, Staffordshire)
- Joan Lockley. Founder and Coordinator, West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue. For services to Wildlife. (Walsall, West Midlands)
- Deborah Anne Lowe. Chair and Director, Youth Onstage. For services to Musical Theatre in the West Midlands. (Rowley Regis, West Midlands)
- Philip John Siddell. Co-Owner, Humpty Dumpty Day Nurseries Ltd and Trustee, National Day Nurseries Association, West Midlands. For services to the Early Years, to Childcare and to the Charitable Sector. (Burton on Trent, Staffordshire)
- Balbir Singh (Balbir Singh Khanpur Bhujhangy). Musician. For services to Bhangra Music and to Punjabi Culture in the West Midlands. (Smethwick, West Midlands)
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.