Jex Parkin fronts up the biggest group on the authority – but it remains to be seen whether a deal can be done to put him into power
19:57, 11 May 2026Updated 19:59, 11 May 2026
Cllr Jex Parkin (right, Kingstanding) has been appointed the new leader of Reform UK on Birmingham City Council with Charles Latchford (left, Longbridge and West Heath) appointed his deputy
Reform UK tonight named the head of its Birmingham City Council group – and he could be the next leader of Britain’s biggest local authority.
Jex Parkin, who was elected in Kingstanding last week, is the man at the top of the party’s 22 city councillors,
Reform claimed the most number of seat at last week’s ballot – but not enough to claim control of the council. And that means the authority’s future is now up for grabs with a coalition needed between various parties to secure a route forward.
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Charles Latchford, one of two Reform councillors for the Longbridge and West Heath ward in the south of the city, was named group deputy leader.
Coun Parkin, who is just 24, is a former player at Harborne rugby club and a sales manager for a sportswear firm.
He said: “I’m honoured to be elected as the leader of the Birmingham Reform UK group – the largest group on the council.
“The real work starts now. Myself and my colleagues will be working around the clock for residents of the city, however, the political landscape pans out over the coming days and weeks.”
Birmingham 2026 election results (minus the two seats in Glebe Farm & Tile Cross, which is being declared on Monday)
The political map in Birmingham was torn up last week, with Labour slumping from 65 councillors at the 2022 election, to just 17 this time.
The Conservatives also went backwards from 22 councillors in 2022 to 16 now.
READ MORE: Meet your new Birmingham councillors as two seats wait to be filled
Other big winners at the Birmingham elections were the Green Party, who went from two seats to 19, and independent candidates of various affiliations who now number 12 from none in 2022.
The Liberal Democrats garnered 12 seats, just as they did four years ago.
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Results for one ward, and two seats, had still yet to be declared tonight – three days after counting ended in every other contest.
Several recounts had been unable to confirm the winners in the Glebe Farm and Tile Cross ward. Former Labour council leader John Cotton was among those who stood, but he conceded he had lost on Friday.
READ MORE: Six huge takeaways from Birmingham City Council election
None of the parties represented on the council are anywhere close to the 51 needed to form a majority on the 101-seat authority.
Even if two parties joined forces, they would still fall short. So all eyes are on deals being done, either for a formal coalition or a ‘confidence and supply’ agreement, between parties to get legislation through.
Or the city may end up with a minority led authority with deals to be done every step of the way to have proposals passed.