Tory Mayor Andy Street hired his Labour opponent to provide leadership advice

Tory mayor Andy Street hired his Labour opponent in May’s local elections to provide leadership advice, it can be revealed.

The West Midlands Metro Mayor has claimed in election leaflets that rival Richard Parker was “an unknown” and a “novice”.

But local authority leaders told this newspaper Mr Parker is “well known” to Mr Street, and had been brought in by the mayor’s team as a “marriage counsellor” to help councils work together.

Mr Parker’s experience in local government in the West Midlands long pre-dates Mr Street’s. While working for consultancy firm PwC, he led the team that brokered the 2016 deal to set up the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) – the body that Mr Street was elected to lead the following year.

Under Mr Street’s leadership the WMCA hired his consultancy firm in 2022 to provide “external advice” on “leadership”, paying him £25,000. It’s understood Mr Street specifically asked for Mr Parker to be brought in to give advice, something Mr Street’s team did not deny.

“He’s very well known to Andy Street,” George Duggins, leader of Coventry Council said. “Richard Parker facilitated a meeting where we as leaders came together with Andy Street to look at the way the combined authority was developing. It looked like Andy engaged in that.”

A Labour source said: “Andy Street paid Richard Parker for Leadership advice. He then produced a leaflet claiming he had more leadership experience than Parker. Street needs to come clean about why he needed to hire the Labour candidate in the first place and why he hasn’t been up front with voters in his leaflets. No one thinks Andy Street is doing a good job, he just turns up in a high vis and a hard hat for his picture to be taken.”

The Labour source added: “If you want to fix the West Midlands, do what Andy Street does – get Richard Parker in.” A spokesperson for Andy Street denied he had ever “hired” Mr Parker, but did not deny that Mr Street requested he be hired.