West Midlands

The West Midlands showing boroughs: 1–City of Wolverhampton 2–Dudley 3–Walsall 4–Sandwell 5–City of Birmingham 6–Solihull 7–City of Coventry

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in central England. It was created, like other metropolitan counties, in 1974, and originally had an elected metropolitan authority, the West Midlands County Council. The County Council, like other metropolitan authorities and the Greater London Council, was abolished in 1986, and the individual boroughs became unitary authority areas. In 2016 the West Midlands Combined Authority was created, comprising one councillor from each of the seven constituent boroughs, plus the directly elected Mayor of the West Midlands.

West Midlands Police covers the entire county.

The county comprises seven metropolitan boroughs:

• City of Birmingham
• City of Coventry
• City of Wolverhampton
• Dudley
• Sandwell
• Solihull
• Walsall.

An area roughly corresponding to the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Walsall is referred to as the Black Country. Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the Black Country together roughly comprise the West Midlands conurbation.

The name West Midlands is also confusingly, given to the much larger West Midlands region, comprising the counties of West Midlands, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Mayor of the West Midlands

Andy Street, first Mayor of the West Midlands

The Mayor of the West Midlands is a directly elected post. The first elections were held in 2017, and Andy Street was elected Mayor for three years. In 2021 he was re-elected (the 2020 Election was postponed because of Covid restrictions). In 2014 Street narrowly lost to the Labour candidate Richard Parker.

LGBT history

A West Midlands CHE Group was formed in March 1970, but soon split into Birmingham and Wolverhampton groups.

West Midlands Police has its own LGBT Network.

External links

http://www.locallife.co.uk/westmidlands/gay-lesbian-organisations.asp West Midlands gay and lesbian organisations