'The best job I've ever had': West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker looks back at his first year in office

Labour’s Richard Parker was elected in May 2024, beating the former Conservative Mayor Andy Street – who had been bidding for a third term – by just over 1,500 votes.

He set out his key priorities, which were based on better jobs and skills, more social housing, increased growth and safer, easier and more affordable travel.

Mr Parker said he also made changes to the way the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), of which he is chair of, worked.

When he had completed 100 days in the post, he described it as the best job he had ever had and, as he clocks up his first full year, Mr Parker said he still held that view.

Looking back on his first year, Mr Parker told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It absolutely is (the best job).

“What has struck me is how meaningful this role is and the difference one can make, even as a Mayor with more soft powers than hard.

“The way in which you approach this job not just doing different things but doing them differently.

“Immediately, when I came into this, I realised the parameters I had to work with were greater than I thought.

“I spent the year rather than cutting ribbons I’ve been cutting red tape. For me, it’s all been about delivery and fixing the foundations so this organisation, working with our partners can deliver.

“We’ve changed the direction and started to deliver and make a substantive change.”

Mr Parker cited a number of successes during his watch which he said he wants to build on during the rest of his term.

These include the creation of more than 500 social homes compared with 46 in the previous eight years.

He also said almost £170 million had been secured to retrofit 10,000 houses across the region to make them more energy efficient and bring bills down.

In the area of growth, Mr Parker said Investment Zones in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry were on track to deliver £5 billion investment and create 30,000 new jobs. The Mayor said he was working to ensure those jobs went to people in the region.

He said he was pleased to have attracted £15 million from the Government to help 1,300 businesses to cut their energy consumption and costs.

In the area of jobs and skills, he announced he had hit his target of providing 55,000 people with vital jobs training in his first year.

Another aspect which delighted Mr Parker was the appointment of Mat MacDonald as the UK’s first Road Safety Commissioner and Beccy Marston as the Active Travel Commissioner.

He said National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman had been very complimentary about the work they were doing.

And in terms of transport, the Mayor said he was pleased with the progress being made on introducing a franchise system to the region’s bus network and moving away from the current deregulated system.

He also said he was pleased £370 million had been secured to expand the Metro in the Black Country through Dudley to Brierley Hill.

And, on a more local level, £9 million has been secured from the government to fix potholes across the region.

Mr Parker said: “We’re making what we do here relevant. Sometimes, the Mayor’s role might sound quite strategic and so being responsible for programmes for programmes and delivering work on the ground in our communities such as potholes is useful.

“Across the broad spectrum of areas, there is always more to do but what we’ve demonstrated is if you commit to doing different things and you use your influence and resources in the right way, you can make a difference.”

The role has also brought about some challenges the Mayor has had to face during the last 12 months.

Mr Parker said the hole in bus funding was now approaching £100 million – one of the main reasons for his preference for moving to a franchise model.

And just weeks after his election, it was announced major transport projects such as the new Camp Hill Line railway stations in Birmingham and the Black Country Metro were delayed due to soaring costs and issues.

He later called for a review of all current and planned projects, saying he had concerns over the funding, delivery and delay while also accusing his predecessor of making “grand promises” which weren’t being delivered.

In turn, Mr Street said he was saddened to see party politics being played over the issue, adding he had “bequeathed to the new Mayor billions in devolved transport funding” for the projects.

Mr Parker said he was pleased the projects were back on track with projects expected to be completed during his next year at the helm.

Mr Parker said: “The feedback I get when I talk to people is that, not only do people recognise me now, they know what I do is distinctive and different.

“I talk about different things than my predecessor, things I believe are important to the people that live here.

“It’s the best job I’ve ever had because I know the difference I can make. You can change lives with this job.”