Photo: Chris Whippet · CC BY-SA 2.0Reform UK holds a majority on Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Smethwick is run by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Reform UK has a majority on Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Its MP is Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour), member for Smethwick.
£2,244
Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.
Where it goes →How Smethwick’s politics has changed since 2021
A majority on Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Reform UK holds a majority on Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council: 41 of its 72 seats as elected. Labour holds 28, the Greens 2 and independents 1. Who’s in charge ↓
Council tax
A Band D bill in Smethwick is £2,244 for 2026–27; Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council keeps 85% of it. The council area’s Band D has risen 61% in ten years, against England’s 56%. Council money ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and MHCLG council tax.
Who holds the seats
Seats by party as elected. A party needs 37 of Sandwell’s 72 seats to run the council alone.
- Reform UK41
- Labour28
- Green2
- Independent1
Latest election: May 2026.
Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.
The councils that run Smethwick
One council runs every main service here.
Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.
Website ↗Transport, skills and regeneration across several council areas. It is led by an elected mayor.
Mayor: Richard Parker (Labour and Co-operative), elected May 2024
Who to ask
From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.
All of Smethwick is unparished: there is no parish or town council, so the council runs local matters itself and no parish precept is added to the bill.
Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Smethwick, from the most recent elections.
- 1Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council5 wards · 15 councillorsLabour 11 · Green 2 · Reform UK 2 · all 15
- 2Mayor of West Midlands Combined AuthorityWest Midlands Combined Authority · elected May 2024Richard Parker
- 3Police and crime commissionerWest Midlands Police · elected May 2024Simon John Foster
- 4House of CommonsSmethwick
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.
15 councillors for 5 wards
Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.
- Ragih Saleh Ahmed MuflihiLabour · May 2026
- Farut ShaeenLabour · May 2026
- Mohammed Jalal UddinLabour · May 2026
- Parbinder KaurLabour · May 2026
- Luke John DaviesLabour · May 2026
- Ash LewisLabour · May 2026
- Hilary Jane GrandeyGreen · May 2026
- John Ashley TipperGreen · May 2026
- Jennifer HemingwayLabour · May 2026
- Aqeela ChoudhryLabour · May 2026
- Abid HussainLabour · May 2026
- Charn Singh PaddaLabour · May 2026
- Jonathan James FoxReform UK · May 2026
- Amolak Singh DhariwalLabour · May 2026
- Liane WinsperReform UK · May 2026
Show as a table
| Ward | Seats | Elected | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soho & Victoriaall in Smethwick · 15,726 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Ragih Saleh Ahmed MuflihiFarut ShaeenMohammed Jalal Uddin | May 2026 |
| Smethwickall in Smethwick · 14,739 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Parbinder KaurLuke John DaviesAsh Lewis | May 2026 |
| Bearwoodmostly in Smethwick · 11,846 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Hilary Jane GrandeyJohn Ashley TipperJennifer Hemingway | May 2026 |
| St Paulsmostly in Smethwick · 10,974 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Aqeela ChoudhryAbid HussainCharn Singh Padda | May 2026 |
| Bristnall18% in Smethwick · 2,707 residents3 seats · May 2026 | 3 | Jonathan James FoxAmolak Singh DhariwalLiane Winsper | May 2026 |
Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council’s website lists who sits now.
Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).
Sandwell council election, May 2026
Results in the wards that make up Smethwick, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.
5 wards voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.
No election is scheduled yet for Smethwick’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.
Who can I vote for? ↗7,076 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
8,121 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
12,059 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Every ward’s result (2 more)
8,636 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
10,060 votes for candidates · 3 seats, so 3 votes each
Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.
Smethwick is in Smethwick constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Smethwick).
35,115 votes for candidates · majority 11,188
Labour, MP since 4 July 2024.
turnout in July 2024: 35,115 votes from 72,863 registered voters. England: 60%.
Majority 11,188 of 35,115 votes (31.9%): wider than in 87% of England’s 543 constituencies.
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.
Smethwick’s Band D council tax is £2,244 a year
Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council keeps £1,914.77 of a Band D bill (85%); the rest goes to the West Midlands police and crime commissioner and the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority.
Band D since 1993
Sandwell’s Band D bill has risen 61% in ten years, from £1,390.22 in 2016–17, against England’s average (56%). It was £610.88 in 1993–94.
Your bill by band
A Band D home in the unparished part of Sandwell, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.
West Midlands’s councils
Average Band D in each council area, 2026–27, parish precepts included. Bars start at £2,000.
Council budgets per resident, 2026–27
Show as a table, with West Midlands
| Sandwell | Smethwick’s councils | West Midlands | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult social care | £522 | £502 | £487 |
| Children’s social care | £317 | £351 | £290 |
| Roads and transport | £32 | £92 | £41 |
| Housing (not council homes’ rents) | £53 | £59 | £61 |
| Bins, street cleaning, environment | £137 | £111 | £119 |
| Libraries, leisure, culture | £41 | £46 | £44 |
| Planning and development | £64 | £16 | £26 |
| Public health | £103 | £106 | £78 |
| Running the council | £59 | £41 | £59 |
| Other | £33 | £25 | £19 |
| Total, schools apart | £1,360 | £1,349 | £1,234 |
Net budgeted service spending, MHCLG Revenue Account budget 2026–27, per resident (ONS mid-2025 estimates). Schools are left out: academies are paid for directly by government, so council school budgets depend on how many schools have converted. West Midlands and England: all their councils together. Police, fire and transport authorities aren’t included.
Band D: MHCLG Band D council tax 2026–27 (each authority’s own figure, excluding parish precepts) and Council Tax statistics for town and parish councils 2026–27; since 1993–94, MHCLG’s area averages including parishes.
Having a say in how Smethwick is run
It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.
gov.uk ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.
sandwell.gov.uk ↗Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.
sandwell.gov.uk ↗The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Smethwick is run
Does Smethwick have a town council?
No. Smethwick is unparished, so there is no town or parish council and no parish precept.
Who is the MP for Smethwick?
Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour) is the MP for Smethwick, which covers Smethwick.
How many councillors does Smethwick have?
15 ward councillors represent Smethwick’s 5 wards.
When are the next elections in Smethwick?
No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Smethwick’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
How much is council tax in Smethwick?
Band D council tax in Smethwick is £2,244 for 2026–27. Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).
Who controls Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council?
Reform UK has a majority: 41 of 72 seats as elected. The council’s website lists who leads it now.
Who won the 2026 council election in Smethwick?
In Smethwick’s wards on 7 May 2026, Labour 11 · Green 2 · Reform UK 2 of the 15 seats up. Labour had the largest share of votes, 44.4%.
Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · MHCLG Band D council tax, parish precepts and Revenue Account budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0) · ONS mid-2025 population estimates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.