Sandwell Elections 2026: Carmichael Faces Full Council Vote on Thursday

sandwell elections 2026 will put every seat on Sandwell Council to the vote on Thursday after boundary changes forced a full contest across the borough. Kerrie Carmichael, the Labour leader of Sandwell Council, said she is worried about community cohesion as campaigning has brought abuse on the doorstep.

Results from the counts are expected by Saturday. Reform UK is predicted to be the main beneficiary, while Labour has controlled Sandwell Council since 1979 and once held all 72 seats.

Sandwell Council on Thursday

The vote comes as local elections in England cover more than 5,000 seats across 136 local authorities and six mayoral races. In Sandwell, though, the boundary changes mean every seat is open at once, making the contest larger than a routine local election and leaving no ward untouched by the result.

Carmichael said, "I live here and I'm worried," and added, "Just worried about community cohesion, I suppose, and the rhetoric that's coming through." She also said she had faced abuse while out campaigning about the way she looks rather than policy.

Kerrie Carmichael in Sandwell

Carmichael said, "It's a challenge on the doorsteps but we really want this and we're out there every day, knocking on doors, talking to people about what Sandwell and Sandwell Labour have got to offer the community," and, "I think people are looking at national rather than local issues." Her remarks point to a campaign being fought on both local council questions and broader politics, with the party defending a borough it has run for 46 years.

That long run stretches back to 3 May 1979, when Labour took control of Sandwell Council. On the same day, Margaret Thatcher began 18 years of Conservative rule after the general election.

Ray Nock in Stone Cross

The campaign has also included visits to Soho Victoria ward, where the last comparable election was comfortably won by Labour. Ray Nock, a former Conservative councillor who leads a Reform UK team in Stone Cross, part of the Hateley Heath ward, said he was predicting a "political earthquake."

For voters, the immediate question is not abstract: the council they choose on Thursday could look very different by Saturday, and the party that has held Sandwell since 1979 is defending all of its ground at once.