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Former council leader returns to top job

Anna Whittaker
BBC Political Reporter, Black Country•@journoanna_
Walsall Council A man wearing a blue shirt and a green tie. He sits at a brown table and there is a bookcase in the background. He is smiling and looking to his left.Walsall Council
Councillor Mike Bird was chosen as the new leader in a meeting on Tuesday

A former leader of Walsall Council has returned to the position, a year after he resigned from the role.

Mike Bird stepped down from leading the Conservative-run council in June 2024 after being suspended from the party.

The new leader was confirmed on Tuesday after councillor Garry Perry, who succeeded Bird as leader, resigned himself from the role over what he described as "a campaign of political attrition, deliberate undermining and personal hostility".

Bird said the council had been through "turbulent times" in recent weeks and thanked Perry at the meeting.

Bird, who represents Pheasey Park Farm, has led Walsall Council six times.

"We must unite as a council no matter what political party you are," he told councillors.

"Tonight I feel like the osprey that has returned back to its nest and I am very grateful for that."

The Conservatives have a majority on Walsall Council with 37 elected councillors.

Pictured is Garry Perry with a slight smile on his face. He is wearing round dark framed glasses, has a dark blond quiff and a dark blonde beard. He is wearing a dark blue blazer with a white shirt underneath and a blue and red tie. He is standing next to a green sign that says "We are Walsall 2040".
Former Walsall Council leader Garry Perry said he stepped down due to "a campaign of political attrition, deliberate undermining and personal hostility"

Perry resigned with immediate effect on 21 May, saying the borough deserved better "than the behaviour it is currently being subjected to behind closed doors."

In his statement, he added: "I have been subjected to a sustained campaign of political attrition, deliberate undermining and personal hostility — not because of failure or wrongdoing but because I refused to play the game of patronage and self-preservation."

Councillors welcomed Bird back to the chamber.

Councillor Aftab Nawaz, leader of the Walsall independent group, said: "The way you were removed from council was an affront to democracy in this chamber.

"We had people from outside deciding who would [run] this council and that is never good."

Councillor Matt Ward, leader of the Labour group, asked Bird if he would investigate the "serious allegations" around bullying made by Perry.

The new leader said: "I will speak to Garry, I have no knowledge of where his bullying came from, it certainly wasn't from me."

The Conservative Party has been approached for a response.

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