West Midlands: Your 2024 mayoral candidates
The mayoral elections are being held on 2 May.
Voters across the West Midlands will elect their next mayor on May 2.
The role involves representing around 2.8m people across the region, focusing on a number of areas including economic growth, transport, housing, unemployment and homelessness.
Six candidates are standing to be the next West Midlands mayor - here is a quick guide to each of them:
Sunny Virk - the Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrat candidate Sunny Virk is from Coventry and is a barrister and mediator who studied law in London. He returned from the capital to raise his family in the region and work in the legal industry.
Sunny lives with his wife, son and their golden retriever.
His priorities include housing and transport. He wants affordable homes and to help boost local businesses and jobs, as well as a reliable transport network.
Mr Virk believes the Liberal Democrats can right the wrongs of other parties.
Siobhan Harper-Nunes - the Green Party
Siobhan Harper-Nunes is the candidate for the Green Party and has previously stood in the 2022 local elections in the Gravelly Hill ward. She also stood in the 2022 parliamentary by-election for the Erdington constituency.
She founded Shakti Women in 2006, which is a group to help women achieve their goals.
One of her main focuses is for the West Midlands Combined Authority to work hard for left-behind communities.
She also wants to increase the pace of climate change work and achieve a zero road deaths initiative around dangerous driving.
Elaine Williams - Reform UK
Elaine Williams is the candidate from Reform UK, a solicitor who deals mostly in probate cases. She is married and has a pet dog.
Her main aim is to increase the number of buses in our region, which she claims would cost less than the proposed very light railway scheme. Elaine also wants to remove restrictions to allow cars back into Coventry city centre.
She also believes low traffic neighbourhoods and clean air zones are "damaging" for businesses. Elaine would also like to see more social housing built in the region.
Andy Street - the Conservative Party
The Conservative candidate Andy Street moved to Northfield as a child, and began working for retailer John Lewis in 1985.
Two decades later, he became managing director, but left in 2016 to pursue a career in politics.
He was first elected mayor of the West Midlands in May 2017 and elected a second time in May 2021.
Mr. Street has said his top priorities include opening nine new tram stations and three new railway stations. He has also set a target to build over 15,000 new homes every year, create 425,000 new jobs to tackle youth unemployment and build a West Midlands Velodrome and new indoor sport venues.
Richard Parker - the Labour Party
Richard Parker is the Labour candidate and started up his own firm working with companies and social enterprises.
He made the move into politics recently and has claimed it to be the most important thing he's done.
Mr Parker said among his priorities are stopping private firms running buses in the region, with plans to set up a franchise system is he is elected to the role.
He also wants to revamp high streets, create 150,000 jobs and bring down crime. He backs proposed plans for a very light railway and wants more markets in the Black Country to bring in visitors.
Akhmed Yakoob - Independent
Akhmed Yakoob is the independent candidate and is the director of a Birmingham-based solicitors firm. He is known for his TikTok videos and has more than 178,000 followers on the platform.
He wants to see more houses built on brownfield sites and abandoned industrial areas. Some of his other aims include making sure burial services meet religious requirements.
Mr Yakoob also wants to see a reduction in crime, and investment from China and the Middle East to build factories and create more jobs in the region. He has said he will be an advocate for people in Gaza.