Suspended Tory to remain leader of Walsall Council

The leader of Walsall Council said he would continue to serve as leader of the authority with the support of his colleagues despite his suspension by the Conservative Party.

Mr Bird had already appealed the suspension.

He has served as chairman of the authority three times since 2009, including from May 2018 to the present.

The Walsall Conservatives Annual General Meeting took place on Wednesday evening.

Mr Bird formed a “Conservatives and Independents” group with the majority of the authority’s Conservative councilors.

The Tories continue to control the council following the local elections on May 2, in which they won 12 seats, while Labor won five seats and three were won by independent candidates.

As the largest faction on the council, Mr Bird will continue to serve as leader.

The leader of the Labor opposition group in Walsall, Matt Ward, called on him to resign during the investigation.

Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday evening, Mr Bird said he was “proud and humbled” by the support from Conservative councilors.

Another councillor, Suky Samra, was also suspended for three months by the Conservative Party as part of the investigation.

He has served as an independent since last year and said he also plans to appeal his suspension.

Some members of Mr Bird’s party were critical of the move, with Conservative councilor Sarah Jane Cooper saying: “Council obsession with power and remaining as leader was evident at last night’s meeting.”

She added: “This is nothing other than a power grab and he should have done the honorable thing and resigned and accepted his suspension from the Conservative Party and apologized for his actions.”

She also said that the formation of a new political group “makes a complete mockery of the Conservative Party as a whole and is an insult to residents who voted for Conservative candidates rather than independents just last week.”

Another Conservative councillor, Bobby Bains, said: “It’s disappointing that people who were on the Conservative banner just last week have now defected to a new party.”

“This has deceived the public and they should be ashamed.”