They are both successful businessmen, both turned 60 last year, are both white and British-born, and have flats in trendy Birmingham city centre blocks. But there are some crucial differences between Andy Street, current mayor, and his main rival Richard Parker.
Their names will be on the ballot papers on May 2, when the people of the West Midlands will be asked to decide who they want as Mayor for the next four years. Here are some insights to help you make up your minds.
1. Andy Street is a Conservative, Richard Parker is Labour.
It might seem an obvious starting point, but anyone who has viewed Andy Street's election leaflets or social media campaigns might not realise he is a lifelong Conservative and was endorsed for the job by former Prime Ministers David Cameron and, later, Theresa May. He backed Liz Truss in the recent leadership campaign, and that didn't go too well. He describes himself as a reforming Conservative.
READ MORE: Labour's Richard Parker shakes off 'unknown' tag in bid to become mayor
In the run up to next month's vote, with the Conservatives in all sorts of political trouble and his party's standing at a desperately low ebb, he is doing his best to make the case for the role being about 'person' not 'party'. Your vote is for him, not his party affiliation, he says, highlighting the times he has stood against his party leader on HS2 and other issues. "I am not a party stooge," he proclaims.
But for all his protest it is the Conservative Party who provide financial backing for his campaign and for his political office within the West Midlands Combined Authority, and it is the Conservative Party's policies that he stands behind as a prominent party member. In 2023 the party donated more than £250,000 to Street to fund his political work - this is separate from the salary he receives as mayor and the staffing costs for the combined authority. It might explain his unwillingness to sever his party ties and stand as an Independent, as some have said he should.
READ MORE: Labour mayor candidate Richard Parker's five key manifesto pledges
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On the other hand Richard Parker is making much of his connections to the Labour Party inner circle. Last Saturday he was photographed in a micropub sharing a pint with Sir Keir Starmer before the Premier League match between Arsenal and Wolves. Most of the shadow cabinet have been in the West Midlands backing his case, including deputy leader Angela Rayner and shadow transport secretary Lou Haigh. He's pals with Rachel Reeves, shadow chancellor, and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has been in town backing his plans to franchise the bus network.
He has won a pledge from the Labour leadership that metro mayors will get regular invites to attend Shadow Cabinet and make the case direct on regional issues. He has also made much of the broad church of prominent Labour figures backing him - from local MPs and shadow cabinet members to left wingers like Zarah Sultana in Coventry and Dudley's Pete Lowe, who is part of his campaign team. Given his relative obscurity compared to Street, he will be relying on a strong turnout by Labour voters.
2. Jasper Carrott, Gary Newbon and Theresa May versus Carl Chinn, Keir Starmer and 'my sister'
It's that time of the campaign when candidates roll out their celebrity backers. They might both be saving up their big hitters but it's been fairly low key so far.
Andy Street has opted for cosy chats with erstwhile friends Jasper Carrott, a 79 year old Brummie comedian best known to more recent generations as the presenter of the iconic Golden Balls, and former PM Theresa May. He most recently unveiled the support of former sports presenter Gary Newbon, also 79. There has been no sign of direct backing from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, former PMs Boris Johnson or Liz Truss, while a planned visit to the region by Michael Gove last week didn't go ahead. Jeremy Hunt has visited, but the media were not invited along.
By comparison, Labour's biggest hitters have descended in force in what is a clear sign of their intent to capture the mayoralty. Parker also has the backing of Brummie legend Carl Chinn, a loud and enthusiastic champion of the region who says he has never before pinned his backing so clearly to a candidate, but thinks the region 'needs change'. Parker has promised to bring Chinn into the mayoral tent if he's elected. In what was likely a move to personalise his campaign, Parker's sister Jan also gave him her public backing in a video message, which is nice.
3. Tastes in film and music
While they will be hoping most electors will pour over each of their manifestos - Street's runs to 149 pages - some of you might make your choice on other, more superficial grounds. Their dress sense, say, or how they speak, or their music tastes. Read into these cultural choices what you will.
Andy Street's desert island disc is Heather Small's Pride, the uplifting epic that's often the choice of creators of heroic sporting montages. "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" she opines. Voted for Andy? might be your answer.
His favourite music is Mozart's The Magic Flute, and the last concert he went to was Elbow. His film choice is Tea with Mussolini, a Zefferelli directed comic drama set in pre-war Italy, telling the story of a young boy brought up by a gaggle of women.
Street says his cultural hero is Alan Bennett, the English playwright and author behind the Talking Heads monologues and the plays-turned-films The History Boys and The Lady in the Van. (As a political aside, Bennett also endorsed Jeremy Corbyn's campaign as Labour leader in 2015.) At the theatre, Street's favourite choice is The Rotters Club, the stage adaptation of the Jonathan Coe novel set in Birmingham in the 1970s and based on the antics of boys at King Edward's Grammar against a backdrop of IRA bombs, early romance and industrial unrest. As it happens, Street attended a King Edward's Grammar in the 1970s, so may well identify with one or more of the primary characters.
READ MORE: Andy Street says ‘job isn’t done’ as six key manifesto priorities unveiled
For Richard Parker, the choices are slightly more leftfield. He names The Clash as his favourite band, citing the writing partnership of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones as 'exemplary'. Massive Attack, The Jam and anything involving Damon Albarn, of Blur and Gorillaz, get a big tick.
His film choices feature early de Niro films, with the Godfather 'the greatest film of its era, if not ever'. He has a love of books, with copies of To Kill a Mockingbird, the book he cites as the start of his political education, and All the President's Men on his shelves. He also shares his love of a book he happened across in a charity shop, called 20 Letters to a Friend, which is the personal memoir of one of Stalin's daughters who grew up inside the Kremlin during her father's cruel regime, later fleeing into political exile.
A regular at RSC plays with his wife, he's mentioned being keen to finally watch the feted musical play Hamilton this summer. He describes US president JFK as a political hero for the social justice and change he fought for, and says he greatly admires his Labour colleagues Rachel Reeves 'for the way she has built bridges across the party' and her professionalism, and Jess Phillips for her passion and ability to communicate with ordinary people. Gorbachev and Obama are cited as overseas heroes.
Catch up on our in-depth interviews with the two rivals
ANDY STREET: Andy Street tells almost all on religion, drugs and hiding his Conservatism
ANDY STREET: Andy Street's most revealing interview ever as he fights to remain mayor
RICHARD PARKER: Labour's Richard Parker shakes off 'unknown' tag in bid to be Mayor of West Midlands
Coming up: RICHARD PARKER: Five changes on the way if Labour's Richard Parker becomes Mayor of the West Midlands
Also running in the mayoral election for the West Midlands are:
Siobhan Harper-Nunes (Greens)
Sunny Virk (Liberal Democrats)
Elaine Williams (Reform UK)
Akhmed Yakoob (Independent)
