THE Green Party have revealed Solihull Council Opposition Leader Steve Caudwell as their candidate for the West Midlands Combined Authority Mayoral race.
And a fundraising drive to support his bid for the top job is already more than a third of its way to meeting its £5,000 target just days after being launched.
Councillor Caudwell, who represents Castle Bromwich on Solihull Borough Council, said: “It’s a real honour to be chosen by the Green Party.
“The Midlands is the beating heart of Britain’s manufacturing economy, we’re a region with so much potential – but it’s clearer than ever that the current leadership is failing to tackle the big problems of our time.
“When it comes to cutting carbon pollution, the science is clear that we must ‘balance our books’ by 2030 to avoid the worst consequences of the climate emergency.
“However the current Mayor Andy Street insists on working to a leisurely timeline that will see us achieve this 11 years late – and it’s not even clear we’re on schedule to hit that date.
“As Mayor, I will bring in the 2030 target we need to have a chance of averting the massive disruption to our way of life that’s heading toward us.
“A genuinely Green Industrial Revolution can bring our poorest out of poverty, but only if we take the problem seriously.
“Our current Mayor has presided over an increase in child poverty since 2017 – I will do what it takes to give dignity and hope back to our residents.
“And we won’t meet 2030 without a public transport network we can actually use – we hear a lot of promises and plans from Andy Street but we don’t see action.
“I will deliver the integrated system we all need to help us leave the car at home.”
The election for the West Midlands Mayor coincides with local elections and the poll for the Police and Crime Commissioner of the West Midlands with all being held on Thursday, May 6.
For more information, visit https://www.steve4mayor.green .
