Birmingham & Black Country

Local elections 2026
Local elections 2026

Frustration, apathy and hope: Birmingham divided as extraordinary election looms

Is the UK's second city about to see the biggest political shake-up in more than a decade?
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  1. Luke Orchard sits in a car. He is a white man wearing a black beanie hat, with long hair and a long beard. He has a shocked expression. On the back seat of his car can be seen two plastic skeletons, which are yellow in colour.

  2. Two women and a man are standing on a high street facing the camera. The man is in the middle and wearing a black Hugo Boss T-shirt. The woman on the left has red hair and a black coat. The woman on the right has dark hair, a light scar and a black coat.

  3. A woman smiles in a lab, next to a table with a stethoscope with white walls and a laptop behind her. She is wearing a white hijab and grey jacket. She has frameless glasses.

  4. Joe Murphy in the dressing room of the Birmingham Rep with bright lights fringing mirrors behind him

  5. Noah is in a grey baby-suit. He is looking at the camera and appears to be sat on on a bed in a bedroom.

  6. A woman in a police officer's uniform and hat grins with her arm in the air, while hugging a young blonde girl in red armbands who smiles at her.

  7. A man standing on a pitch with a blurred purple light in the background. He has black hair in cornrows and a closely trimmed moustache and beard. He is smiling and looking into the distance. He is wearing a brown bomber jacket, cream t shirt and numerous gold and silver necklaces with charms.

  8. A police mugshot of a man with dark hair. He is wearing a cream jumper. There is a West Midlands Police logo in the bottom right corner.

  9. Sean Egan is looking at the camera, in front of a green wall. He is bald and has a beard, and is wearing a light-beige jacket with a black T-shirt.

  10. A firefighter in dark blue clothing stands beside a red fire engine with red and yellow panelling details on the side. He has a buzz cut and is stood with his hands behind his back.

  11. Woman on left wearing a grey jumper, has brown hair and a red lanyard talking into a microphone. Woman on right wearing a hijab, glasses, grey jumper and black cardigan listens in.

  12. A train pulling into Kings Heath Railway Station. It is black and orange and has at least three carriages. There are people standing on the platform, as well as a brown dog and a pushchair

  13. A large green field with a border of trees and bushes. two people walk over the grass. in the foreground is wooden fencing slightly higher than the field. on the other side of it is a concrete path and a road

  14. A woman in a police officer's uniform and hat grins with her arm in the air, while hugging a young blonde girl in red armbands who smiles at her.

  15. A piece of art which has a pink background and a bright blue Nokia phone on it. The screen is green and lit up and in a black text message it reads "snobs?" referring to a club in Birmingham

  16. A mugshot of John Ashby who has short light brown hair and facial hair. he has a grey blanket across his front

  17. A street with cars parked on the left. In the middle of the road is a police car, which is next to a blue tent. There is a white van behind it with its back doors open. To the right is a pavement with litter strewn on the floor and there are three people standing on the pavement with their backs to the camera.

  18. A man with dark hair and a beard is wearing sunglasses. Blue sky is behind him.

  19. Monty Panesar has a black headscarf on and wears black glasses. He has black facial hair and is wearing a teal coloured t-shirt with a Twickenham Cricket Club logo on its chest. It is raining around him.

  20. A man with a bald head and no teeth is mid-conversation as he walks down a stairway outside a court. He is wearing a navy blazer, a white shirt, a red, navy and white tie, and a black crossbody bag. He is holding a vape.

  21. A man with dark hair that has been brushed to either side of his face is pictured looking expressionless in front of a white background. He is clean shaven and has greyish blue eyes.

  22. A black and white photo of a young man in military uniform. He is wearing a cap.

  23. Alan Carr is sat down on a red settee wearing a brown jacket and grey trousers. He is sat next to judge Michelle Ogundehin, who is dressed in a cream jacket and matching skirt. They are joined by ten people, who are all contestants on the series Interior Design Masters. Sophie from Stoke on Trent is among the contestants and is second left in the photograph. She has long red hair and is wearing a yellow shirt, patterned red trousers and a brown gilet. Ben, from Kinver, is stood behind the red sofa with his arms folded, wearing a beige hoodie.

  24. Matthew Marriott pictured smiling. He has short but spiked grey hair, wears a blue blazer and blue collar shirt.
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