Former Mayor on new movement and ‘divisive’ Reform

Former West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street has condemned Reform’s ‘divisive nature’ as he pushes ahead with a new movement for the ‘politically homeless’.

Mr Street was the Conservative Mayor of the region for seven years before he was ousted by Labour’s Richard Parker back in 2024.

But amid recent ‘disappointment’ with the Labour government and the ‘rise of Reform’ on the right, he has joined forces with Ruth Davidson and other Tory figures to launch Prosper UK – a centre-right group to entice voters back to the Conservative Party.

He says the movement would represent the ‘more moderate centre right’, which he argues has been “eclipsed” in recent years, and could appeal to millions of people who find that no party currently appeals to them.

The former Mayor’s intervention comes at a critical time for the Conservative Party, which faces a clash with Nigel Farage’s Reform in the upcoming local elections in May.

All 101 seats at the Labour-run city council in Birmingham will be contested – and the Conservatives, the second largest party at the local authority, will be hoping to take control despite the opposition to their right.

Asked about the possibility of Reform gaining power in Birmingham, Mr Street told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I do [think it would be bad news]. “Everywhere they have got into power around the country, Reform have let people down.

“They’ve said they can deal with council tax, they’ve said they can improve services – it is demonstrably untrue, just look at Worcestershire as the best example of that. “The more general point about the populists is actually they don’t come with answers,” he continued.

“They come by sort of exploiting the problems – we can all identify the problems, that’s not the hard thing to do. “The hard thing to do is the really difficult stuff around solutions, which I tried to do as Mayor. Reform do not do that.”

“Reform are divisive by their nature,” Mr Street went on to argue.

“They pit one against the other.

“The tradition of Conservatism in Birmingham is actually to draw people together.

“This place, above all others in Britain, has to unite to deal with these problems and Reform is not a uniting force at all.”

Looking ahead to the all-out city council election in Birmingham and the Tories’ chances, Mr Street said: “I am the co-chair of Prosper but I am still a committed Conservative

“I will be walking the streets for the Conservatives across the West Midlands in this election.

“Reform will challenge but I think the talk that Farage has put forward about really competing in Birmingham is for the birds. “I do not believe that will be the case and the simple message is – if you want an end to the Labour regime, it is the established Conservative opposition under Robert Alden that has to be the route.”

He continued: “The Conservative opposition in Birmingham has been very traditional, common sense, sensible – you might call it mainstream Conservative and what is being offered is a very practical agenda. “[It’s something] I feel very positive about and admire actually.”

‘Somebody needs to step forward’ The former Mayor was in Birmingham today, along with former home secretary and Prosper UK vice-chair Amber Rudd, to meet with supporters as well as businesses in the construction and hospitality industries. Mr Street said the movement was about doing a “new form of politics”, saying: “Part of Prosper is about listening, we want to listen to businesses and members of the public here in Birmingham to help us shape our ideas going forwards.

“For the UK to thrive, a place like this [Birmingham] has to thrive – and that’s why we wanted to come and listen.”

Asked about the origins of this new political endeavour, Mr Street said: “I thought the Labour government would be competent and moral and I hoped over time my party would return to the centre ground to challenge them. “What really happened over the next year is that wasn’t how it went.”

He continued that Labour had been “disappointing” and at the same time on the right, there was the “rise of Nigel Farage and Reform”.

“I have absolutely no time for Reform at all,” he said. “I don’t think they provide any real answers.

“So it was those two trends that led me by autumn of last year to be thinking ‘well hang on a minute, somebody needs to step forward to fight for the more moderate centre right’.

“Then through the autumn, there were a few of us that had our conversations and the research we did with More in Common said there was a very large number of people who were politically homeless.”

He added: “My own experience was that [moderate centre right politics] was very successful and popular in the West Midlands. “And although I lost [in 2024], it came so very close against all the odds.”

Along with Ruth Davidson, the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, and Mr Street, Amber Rudd is one of the key figures involved in the Prosper UK movement. The former home secretary argued today there was an absence “of any political party prioritising business, enterprise, entrepreneurs and the job creation that goes with them”.

“I was irresistibly drawn back into doing this with Andy Street and other colleagues because we can’t stand by and see what we think is the most important element of strengthening the economy ignored,” she said. On the demand for centrist, moderate voices in politics, she continued: “You hear the polarised voices because that’s kind of what social media does – it tells you who is angry with who and what’s the latest outrageous thing that Nigel Farage has said.

“But there are millions of people in the country [feeling politically alienated] and we are here to make some noise and say there is a place for policies that embrace growth.

“We’re not a thinktank – we’re a force in order to try and influence policy choices that will help to deliver on growth.” Amid fears over its divisive politics, Reform has previously insisted that it wants to show it would represent people of all backgrounds and faiths.

Labour meanwhile has argued the city’s best days are still ahead despite recent turmoil, with Birmingham Council leader John Cotton saying: “Tough decisions have had to be made.

“But Labour is investing in Birmingham’s renewal and fixing the foundations.”