The
Labour Party candidate was Paulette Hamilton, who is
Birmingham City Council's cabinet member for Health and Social Care. She was selected in a virtual
hustings against Ashley Bertie, the former
West Midlands deputy police and crime commissioner, receiving 82 votes to Bertie's 32. The
Conservative Party selected Robert Alden, who had contested the seat in the previous four general elections.
Reform UK (formerly the Brexit Party) selected Birmingham postman Jack Brookes. Michael Lutwyche stood as an independent. Lutwyche is a Justice-4-the-21 campaigner, supporting the victims of the
Birmingham pub bombings.
Dave Nellist stood for the
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC). He was the Labour MP for
Coventry South East from 1983 to 1992. Nellist received support from the
Breakthrough Party, the
Northern Independence Party and
Left Unity, who joined the TUSC on 20 January 2022 in the PAL - People's Alliance of the Left. David Bishop was a satirical candidate. He said he was standing for serious policies, such as scrapping
HS2 and saving public lavatories, as well as less serious ones, like legalising brothels with a 20% discount for pensioners. This would be the last by election contested by David Bishop before his death in December 2022. ==Campaign==