Former West Midlands mayor Andy Street and dementia advocate Dawn Astle – the daughter of West Bromwich Albion legend Jeff Astle – are among several figures honoured in the New Year’s Honours list. Many of the region’s outstanding individuals have been recognised for their contributions across various fields in the awards.
Sir Andy, who was elected as the region’s first mayor in 2017, is knighted for his service to politics. He said the honour was an ‘accolade for the people in the West Midlands.’ Dawn was awarded an MBE as the driving force behind the campaign to raise awareness of the risk of brain injuries in sport.
Her father died aged just 59 in January 2022 from a condition found by a neurosurgeon to have been caused by heading footballs. She told MPs three years ago: “For almost 20 years now football has failed to act and failed to protect its players; men, women children, all at risk potentially. [They are] unprotected, uninformed. I think if the sport is left to its own devices as it is, then it will just do what it wants to do.”
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Paralympic hero swimmer Tully Kearny, from Aldridge, was awarded an OBE after claiming a gold medal at the Paris Paralympic Games – it’s her second honour having previously received an MBE in 2022. Others have also been recognised for their contributions to education, sport and helping vulnerable people – including the founder of food poverty charity Let’s Feed Brum. You can find the full list below.
Sir Andy , who lost a tight contest to Labour’s Richard Parker in the mayoral election in May, said he had only been the ‘front man’ and the honour was an ‘accolade for the people in the West Midlands who made a success of the combined authority and the mayoralty.’
He added: “Behind it lies a huge endeavour to set this up from scratch and make it the success that it is. It was a huge honour to be able to do that on behalf of citizens across the West Midlands.”
Andy Street has been given a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours list 2025.
(Image: PA)
Full list of West Midlands New Year Honours awards winners 2025
KNIGHTS BACHELOR
- Dr Andrew John Street CBE. Lately Mayor, West Midlands. For Public Service. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
COMMANDERS OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE (CBE)
- Dr Fazal Dad. Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Blackburn College, Lancashire. For services to Further Education. (Dudley, West Midlands)
- Michael David Lewis. Chief Executive Officer, Uniper Energy. For services to Energy Security and Net Zero. (Solihull, West Midlands)
- Professor Paul Michael Stewart FMedSci. Professor of Medicine, University of Leeds. For services to Medical Science. (Solihull, West Midlands
Tully Kearney has been honoured following her gold medal at the Paris Paralympic Games.
(Image: PA)
OFFICERS OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE (OBE)
MEMBERS OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE (MBE)
- Professor Vladlena Benson. Professor Aston Business School, Cyber Security Innovation Research Centre. For services to Cyber Security. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Esther Mary Brittan. For voluntary and charitable services to Young People. (Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands
- Marimouttou Coumarassamy. Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, and Founder and Chair, British Indian Nurse Association. For services to Supporting International Nurses. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Marie-Claire Darke. Councillor, City of Wolverhampton Council. For services to Local Government, to Disability and to Suicide Prevention. (Wolverhampton, West Midlands)
- Gareth Hopkins. Apprenticeship Programme Manager, Forestry Commission. For services to Forestry. (Coventry, West Midlands
- Peter Cecil How. For voluntary and philanthropic services to Music. (Birmingham, West Midlands
- Jacynth Althea Ivey. Board Member, NHS Race and Health Observatory. For services to Nursing. (Birmingham, West Midlands
- Rabiyah Kauser Latif. Near Neighbours Coordinator, Thrive Together Birmingham. For services to Faith and Community Cohesion. (Walsall, West Midlands
- Tracy Marie Lowe. Founder, Wallace Youth Project. For services to Young People. (Oldbury, West Midlands
- Janet Mary McConkey. Chair, Coventry Boot Fund. For services to Vulnerable Children and Families in Coventry. (Coventry, West Midlands
- Michael Andrew Oakes. Chair, National Dairy Board, National Farmers’ Union. For services to Dairy Farming. (Birmingham, West Midlands
- Professor Gavin David Perkins. Dean of Medicine, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick. For services to Resuscitation Science. (Solihull, West Midlands
- Ishaque Benny Aslam Rafiqi. Founder, Let’s Feed Brum and Tabor House. For services to Tackling Homelessness and to the community in Birmingham and the West Midlands. (Bromsgrove, Worcestershire)
- Kenneth Upton. Advocate, Talking Sense, West Midlands. For services to Families of Children with Special Education Needs. (Walsall, West Midlands
- Patricia Ann White. Chief Executive Officer, Suited for Success. For services to Unemployed People in Birmingham. (Halesowen, West Midlands)
MEDALLISTS OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE (BEM)
- Mirza Khudadad Ahmed. Immigration Officer, Home Office. For Public Service. (Birmingham, West Midlands)
- Michelle Hawkins. Foster Carer, Fostering Solutions, West Midlands. For services to Foster Care. (Burntwood, Staffordshire)
- Simon Hawkins. Foster Carer, Fostering Solutions, West Midlands. For services to Foster Care. (Burntwood, Staffordshire)
- Joan Lockley. Founder and Coordinator, West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue. For services to Wildlife. (Walsall, West Midlands)
- Deborah Anne Lowe. Chair and Director, Youth Onstage. For services to Musical Theatre in the West Midlands. (Rowley Regis, West Midlands)
- Philip John Siddell. Co-Owner, Humpty Dumpty Day Nurseries Ltd and Trustee, National Day Nurseries Association, West Midlands. For services to the Early Years, to Childcare and to the Charitable Sector. (Burton on Trent, Staffordshire)
- Balbir Singh (Balbir Singh Khanpur Bhujhangy). Musician. For services to Bhangra Music and to Punjabi Culture in the West Midlands. (Smethwick, West Midlands)