Solihull council election results 2023: the parties that won seats - full list

The Tories suffered major losses in Rishi Sunak’s first electoral test as Prime Minister, with Labour claiming the results suggest they will win the next general election.

The Liberal Democrats also made gains as the Tories lost control of a series of councils across England. Labour took Medway off the Tories and will run the Kent council for the first time since 1998. Labour gained control of Plymouth, where the Tories had run a minority administration – a result branded “terrible” by government minister and local MP Johnny Mercer – then did the same in Stoke-on-Trent, another general election battleground.

In Solihull, the Conservatives retained control of the authority comfortably, holding seven seats, gaining three, and losing one leaving them with ten seats overall. The Green Party holds four seats, the Lib dems three . In an election where Green candidates had hoped to capitalise on a ‘sense of abandonment’ they heard about on Solihull doorsteps, it was the Conservatives to come away the stronger party – one of the few to do so across the country.

Council leader Cllr Ian Courts said it was a ‘great result’ for Conservatives in Solihull, while leader of the Greens Cllr Max McLoughlin said he ‘couldn’t pretend he wasn’t disappointed’.

The final picture in Solihull looks like this:

• Conservatives – 29 seats (+2)
• Greens – 13 seats (-1)
• Lib Dems – 6 seats (+1)
• Independents – 3 seats (-2)

Reaction

Reacting to the results, leader of Solihull Council, Cllr Ian Courts, said: “It’s a great result for Conservatives in Solihull. The national picture has not been good, we know what the national issues are. We have all those issues in Solihull but what we are doing is delivering the best for our people.

“I’m delighted to take the seat in Kingshurst & Fordbridge with the tough and complex development programme going on, but we are determined to see it through. Residents have been very patient – that was a great gain.

“We’ve taken the last seat in Castle Bromwich, so we will be up two on the day which is not like anywhere else in the country.”

Asked if he was surprised Solihull had bucked the national trend, Cllr Courts said: “I thought we would be affected by people not coming out to vote and I suspect the turnout will show that. Some of the seats that have issues, we will look at those and make sure they’re put right.

“Local government should not be about a political football ground – I am proud of being a Conservative, proud to support Rishi’s government, but fundamentally my job is to support the people of Solihull.”