Nicky Brennan named Birmingham Labour group leader

Nicky Brennan has been named the new Labour group leader on Birmingham City Council.

Former council leader John Cotton lost his seat last week as the party saw their control of the local authority disappear in dramatic fashion.

In 2022, Labour won 65 seats, but last week were left with just 17, as Reform UK became the biggest party.

After being named the new group leader, Brennan ruled out entering into any coalition agreement with other parties on the city council.

She said Labour had worked hard to turn the authority around and paid tribute to her predecessor for getting "the council's finances back on track", but acknowledged that voters felt "frustrated by the pace of change".

Brenan was most recently the cabinet member for housing on the local authority.

She is also a former victims commissioner in the West Midlands Mayor's office and was named on the Labour long list of candidates to stand for the mayoral election in 2024.

However, she also faced a tight battle and a recount in the Bournville & Cotteridge ward, with just three more votes than the second Green Party candidate, with the Greens taking the first of the two seats in the ward.

In a statement on Friday, Brennan said: "We respect the outcome of the election and the message voters have sent. Now is the time for us to reflect carefully on the result, listen to residents, and rebuild trust and support with our communities.

"For that reason, our group will not be entering into any coalition agreement or power-sharing arrangement with other parties.

"We will continue to serve residents constructively from the opposition benches, holding the new administration to account where necessary while supporting decisions that are in the best interests of the city and its residents."

Councillor Shuranjeet Singh was named the new Labour group deputy leader.

No party was able to secure a majority last week and on Wednesday the Greens ruled out a coalition with Reform, who took 23 of the 101 seats.

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