KINGSWINFORD and Wall Heath councillor Nicola Richards has been sworn in as the new MP for West Bromwich East following victory in last week's General Election.

The 24-year-old Conservative councillor has become one of the youngest MPs in the country after successfully seizing former deputy leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson's former constituency when the Conservatives won their biggest majority in more than 30 years.

University of Birmingham graduate Miss Richards polled 16,804 to Labour's Ibrahim Dogus, who picked up 15,211 votes.

A councillor for Kingswinford North and Wall Heath since 2015, Miss Richards is chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on Dudley Council and has worked for Mike Wood MP in Dudley South and for former Stourbridge MP Margot James.

Speculation has been rife since her win that a by-election for her council seat will be on the cards in the new year but she has yet to confirm if she will be relinquishing her post on the local authority.