Local election 2026: Meet the BBC CWR panel

The local elections in May will see every seat at Coventry City Council up for election for the first time in more than two decades.

BBC CWR has assembled a panel of four local people to cast their eyes over some of the big issues in the city - and what they think the new council's priorities should be

They will be heard from regularly on CWR ahead of the elections on 7 May:

Chris lives in the Cannon Park area of Coventry and. after leaving school at 16, spent more than 20 decades working as an engineer in the city's car industry, before retraining to work in IT.

The 63-year old is now semi-retired and works as a car delivery driver, driving new vehicles across the country.

He is married with two grown-up children and lives in Coventry with his wife and their pet cat Lily.

Chris is a fan of motor-sport and when not driving cars, likes to go out with his wife to a dinner dance, although his daughter says his signature move is "dad dancing".

When it comes to the election, he says the hardest part is "understanding what those individuals stand for".

"A lot of the paperwork says very similar things; 'We're going to do this, we're going to do that, it's going to be brilliant, vote for us'," he said.

"When it comes to local elections, there may be some local individual politician championing something you feel strongly about, regardless of the main party they belong to."

Beverley has two roles in her life - she works in logistics for a major car firm and is also the primary carer for her husband of 25 years.

He suffered a hypoxic brain injury three years ago, after a cardiac arrest in bed.

The 61-year old had to bring him back but, because his brain was starved of oxygen, he now needs round-the-clock care.

"It's really hard work. You can't leave him. You always fear of his falling and you're following him around the house without making it obvious," she said.

"People assume he's got dementia and he does present as someone with dementia.

"One day I'm Beverley and he realises I'm his wife. Another time he'll tell me to leave the house because his wife will be home soon."

Adult social care is a huge issue for her when it comes to the local election.

"You've got to look at the bigger picture. You can look at your local councillors and what they stand for, but at the end of the day it's a national party," she said.

Ben, an 18-year old student and first-time voter, lives with his dad in Walsgrave and is at sixth-form college, studying media, history and drama.

He wants to join the Royal Marines or another armed service when he leaves full-time education.

"Either I stay in for however long, or I get training for a trade, like plumbing. Something working with my hands," he said.

"It's about pushing yourself and trying to be as best as you can be."

As a first-time voter, he said he had not really considered looking at local issues before.

"It's about the local problems and what people are doing specifically for you, because the local councillors are doing these things for you specifically for you and your area and your city," Ben said.

"But overall, they are still representing a national party, so you should be looking quite closely at what national parties are saying."

Malkit is from Coundon and, for 25 years, was the facilities manager for a 10-storey office block in Coventry.

The 71-year-old moved to the city from Nairobi in Kenya in 1970 and settled in Coventry.

Growing up in Kenya was very different to her life in Coventry; her family lived in a complex that shared a courtyard, so all the children played together.

In Coventry, it was a terraced house with a metaled road instead of the dirt road in Nairobi.

Now retired, she volunteers at the Albany Theatre and is obsessed with an Indian serial she watches online called "Tumm Se Tumm Tak", or "From You to You", about a 45-year old tycoon who falls in love with a 19-year old girl, who is the reincarnation of his late wife.

She is proud of her adopted city and said what candidates said they will do to improve life in Coventry was important to her.

"I want to come into my city and be proud of it. So I would be looking at what the manifestos say," she said.

"Most of their policies seem so similar it's hard to decide. So you might pick something that you really think is an individual thing to do for my city."

• SIMPLE GUIDE: What elections are taking place in May?
• EXPLAINER: What can't you do at a polling station?
• LOOKAHEAD: When is the next general election?
• POSTCODE LOOKUP: Is there an election in your area?

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