Five commitments from the West Midlands’ new mayor on day one

New West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker has hit the ground running after a “roller coaster” election with a pledge to speed up the building of 5,000 social homes in his first year. It would be his priority amid the scandal of thousands of families stuck in hostels and substandard temporary accommodation, he said.

Also in his sights are his plans to:

• Bring the region’s buses under public control within three years
• Launch a skills revolution to create vital jobs and apprenticeships
• A radical revamp of the way the town hall works, with stronger links to the community in the region
• A ‘hotdesk’ within a future Labor Government Cabinet, where he will be invited to provide updates from the region and directly influence policy

READ MORE: Andy Street out as West Midlands mayor as Labor’s Richard Parker pulls out slim victory

But he is determined to use his new role to kick-start the biggest “social housing program this region has seen in 40 years.” “I want to change lives,” he said.

Mr. Parker arrived at work this morning and quickly moved into his new office on the fourth floor, all signs of his old Andy Street already removed. There was a brief embarrassing moment before this morning’s press conference when Mr Street arrived to pick up some belongings, avoiding the waiting cameras by disappearing out a side door.

But otherwise, it was all about the new starter. He toured the office with chief executive Laura Shoaf, meeting staff from the strategy and media teams with whom he will work closely from today. Mr Parker also saw the regional transport network hub and CCTV set-up and promised to take advice and work closely with staff at all levels as he takes up his new role.

Mr Parker has already been inundated with calls to prioritize a range of issues – from active travel to clean air, more apprenticeships to child poverty. He said he will now work with officers to determine what personnel are needed to help fulfill his political ambitions. “I will speak and listen to the people and ensure that the responses from this office and other political offices in the region address these many concerns. It will be about collaboration and then about response and delivery,” he said.

But, tellingly, his first engagement was to attend a social event.

On Gaza, he said “the people have spoken” in supporting alternative candidate Akhmed Yakoob, although he said he had been clear and consistent in calling for a ceasefire. He tweeted earlier today: “The situation in Rafa is very worrying. An Israeli offensive must not continue. There must be an end to the loss of innocent lives…there should be an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages and aid should be there. to be allowed to enter Gaza”.

Housing promises

Mr Parker was taken to task for his housing promises when he attended the Birmingham Citizens UK Accountability Assembly last month. In response to their calls for action on social housing, he said he would work with housing associations and local authorities to tackle the dramatic shortage – by 5,000 in the first year and 2,000 a year thereafter.

Asked about that pledge today, he said he absolutely intended to use a £250m pot of housing funding he inherited “entirely to kick-start social housing”. The best way to do this involves working with housing association partners with development plans that are “ready to go”, he said.

“We have 64,000 people on a waiting list for social housing and 20,000 families in sometimes poor quality temporary accommodation. We have to act.”

He said the campaign showed him how much he meant to the party and its campaigners locally and nationally. They worked closely together from start to finish and gave it their all, he said.

“On May 2, 71,000 doors were knocked across the region by Labor supporters, which is a phenomenal achievement and shows how much this victory was wanted. I made it – I was so happy for so many people who put so much into it – to see it mean so much to them and to me was very emotional and humbling.”

“Emotional Coasters”

He said he had been on an “emotional rollercoaster” from polling day on Thursday (May 2) until he finally found out he had secured the mayoralty just after 9pm on Saturday.

“There was an element of surprise but obviously I was very happy and satisfied. There was this uncertainty from Thursday onwards, I always knew it was going to be very close, but it wasn’t on a knife edge. (Looking back at the photos) I wasn’t smiling much, I think the process had taken so long and there was a huge sense of relief.

“But shortly after the statement, within half an hour, my mind was focused on starting work properly.”

He said he managed to enjoy a celebration on Saturday night with his team – “some of the younger ones stayed longer but unfortunately I had to get up early!” he added. Then, on Sunday afternoon, he had a brief moment of reflection by walking the Lickey Hills, a favorite location, with his wife. “Unfortunately, they ran out of ice cream in the store,” he added.

READ MORE: Labor mayoral candidate Richard Parker’s five key pledges

IN BIRMINGHAM: Want to know what’s really going on in Birmingham’s corridors of power? Subscribe to my newsletter

Parker, 60, a former partner at financial and public services specialists PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC), took the fight to popular Conservative incumbent Mr Street, who has been mayor since the post was created in 2017.

He spoke about the values ​​that defined him growing up as a working-class boy in Bristol and his role in helping to create the West Midlands Combined Authority he now leads in our extended pre-election interview. You can read it in full here: Labour’s Richard Parker shakes off ‘unknown’ label to become West Midlands mayor