The Conservative group leader in Walsall has congratulated the new Reform administration and wished them success.

Councillor Adrian Andrew also said he’s sure ‘everyone who was elected last week is there to do the best for Walsall’. 

The Pheasey Park Farm councillor was deputy leader of Walsall Council before Reform wiped the Tories out at the local elections. 

He was also portfolio holder for regeneration in Walsall, and was first appointed to the role in the mid-2000s. 

Councillor Andrew said: “Congratulations to them, they’ve won the election. But some of the hard yards are actually done once you’re in and when you’re governing the borough. 

“It is a big complex organisation and I really do wish them success because the borough needs success. That’s what we want to see. 

“We’re yet to have a council meeting but the reality is the people have spoken and we accept the will of the people. That’s the democracy we’re all proud to live in.”

Councillor Andrew said Reform will ‘clearly be making all the decisions’ after the electorate voted in 40 councillors out of 60 on May 7.

He added: “Our job is to scrutinise what’s going on. We’re going to scrutinise them and I’m sure the 20 opposition councillors that were elected will be in a position to challenge what they’re doing.”

Councillor Andrew has often described Walsall as being on the ‘cusp of a renaissance’ because of the various major regeneration projects currently underway. 

He added that the cabinet position for regeneration has ‘never been party political’. 

Councillor Andrew said: “Because these regeneration plans are so long in the making, it’s never been party political, even when we had the Labour administration. 

“There might be differences in the way you deliver things but, at the end of the day, I’m sure everyone who has been elected are there to do the best for Walsall Borough and to make sure that we are regenerating the place. 

“One of the biggest things that the council has had to deal with, particularly over the last couple of years and few months, is the huge cost increases on projects across the board because of international events and the state of the economy. Prices of materials and contracts are just going through the roof. 

“But Walsall is on the cusp of a renaissance and we need to grasp the nettle, carry on and deliver for the people of Walsall.”