All you need to know as Redditch prepares for elections

Election time is nearly here - with "bellwether Worcestershire" set to play its part once again as a potentially key barometer of public opinion.

Whatever happens here could help determine the national picture for the political parties, with Redditch Borough Council staging its first set of elections since 2024.

More than 71,000 people will get their chance to have a say on 7 May, with a fascinating electoral battle already starting to play out - so strap yourself in:

Across Herefordshire and Worcestershire the only elections this May are at Redditch Borough Council, where a third of the total seats - nine of the 27 - are up for grabs.

The voting areas are Astwood Bank & Feckenham, Batchley & Brockhill, Central, Greenlands & Lakeside, Headless Cross & Oakenshaw, Matchborough & Woodrow, North, Webheath & Callowhill, and Winyates.

The council - a political version of a see-saw - has been controlled by Labour since 2024, with the party currently holding 18 of those 27 seats.

Do not be fooled into thinking these elections are low key - Redditch is just about the clearest indicator of the national mood as you can get.

Going back to the 1970s, control of the authority has regularly flipped between Conservatives and Labour, as well as the parliamentary seat, with the town's MP Chris Bloore winning it for Labour by 789 votes in 2024.

But the old two-horse race could well be turned on its head this year - with all the evidence pointing to Reform UK eyeing up significant gains in the town.

At last year's Worcestershire County Council elections, Reform won all eight Redditch seats, including the Redditch East one currently held by the leader, Jo Monk.

Something similar here would tip the borough council into no overall control, a situation it has not been in since 2008.

In short, they are vast: where else would you see police having to be called to a council meeting to restore calm?

That's exactly what happened during a heated debate in January when the council held a debate over postponing this set of elections, with 50 protesters turning up and things getting so heated that a councillor ended up calling a member of the public a Nazi.

During that meeting, councillors voted to shelve these elections, only for a later government U-turn over the whole thing, meaning they are in fact going ahead.

Redditch Borough Council is due to be dissolved in 2028 under the current timetable for local government reorganisation, meaning the two main parties which have run the authority are attempting to tap into what they see as their respective legacies for the town.

Key to all this is the ongoing debate over Redditch town centre, which has been through first the impact of Brexit, then Covid and now the general economic issues engulfing the country.

The Conservatives' big idea was to demolish Redditch Library, stick all those books in the town hall and build a new mixed-use three-storey building in its place, alongside a new public plaza.

But the £4.2m flagship project was scrapped by Labour, who said it was unpopular with the public.

The Labour leadership is now focusing on other town centre initiatives like the relaunched outdoor market, shop front upgrades, public realm improvements and an innovation centre at the site of a derelict police station.

The market had closed down during Covid in 2020, with £83,000 spent on reopening it last year.

The general appearance of Redditch has become a subject of debate too - only last month councillors agreed that traffic wardens should be given powers to fine people £250 for dropping litter from vehicles.

Even the subject of "where to bury people" has been a political hot potato - with the council opting to extend burial space at Abbey Cemetery rather than building on part of Ipsley Meadow.

• 9 April - Close of nominations for people to stand in May's elections
• 20 April - Deadline to register to vote, which can be done online
• 21 April - Deadline to apply for a postal vote, which can also be done online
• 28 April - Deadline to apply for a proxy vote, where you can name someone to vote on your behalf. It is also the deadline to apply for a voter authority certificate if you do not have ID like a driver's licence or passport. You need to show ID at a polling station to be able to vote
• 7 May - Polling stations open at 0700 and close at 2200. If you are in the queue by 22:00, you will be able to vote - but do not forget your ID

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