Mayor of the West Midlands

The Mayor of the West Midlands is a directly elected political post who chairs the West Midlands Combined Authority, covering the local authorities serving Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The most recent election took place on Thursday 2 May 2024. Richard Parker took his post as Mayor after defeating former incumbent Andy Street by 1,508 votes.

The previous election was delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the inaugural mayoral term was extended by a year, with the second term length being reduced to three years between 2021 and 2024. The Mayor's term of office will return to four years from 2024 thereafter.

Homes and Land
The Mayor has devolved compulsory purchase powers and is responsible for the West Midlands spatial framework and land commission.

Transport
The Mayor is responsible for franchised bus services, allowing for standardised fares and branding on all bus services in the county, similar to how London's bus network operates. The Mayor is also responsible for the West Midlands Key Route Network, which is managed by Transport for West Midlands on behalf of the Mayor.

Devolution
The Mayor is responsible for ensuring that the first devolution deal is put into action and acts on behalf of the region in negotiating future devolution deals with central government.

Police and crime commissioner
The Mayor was to be vested with the police and crime commissioner functions for the West Midlands Police area from 7 May 2024. Due to a appeal by the current west Midlands PCC the PCC powers will now not be given to the west Midlands mayor.