Speaker profile
Cllr Sean Coughlan
Sean left school aged 15 with no qualifications, through hard work and determination he worked through heavy industry firstly in the Steel Industry and for most of his working life Coal Mining, Sean returned to the steel industry following the closure of Littleton Colliery in 1993, in 2000 he moved into full time education at the age of 44, gaining a degree in Politics and Sociology at the University of Wolverhampton, since then Sean has worked in local Government and latterly the Community and Voluntary sector in Walsall.
Sean Coughlan was first elected in 1995 in Willenhall South, a seat he has retained for 23 years, he became the Chair of Housing Committee in 1997 and developed Walsall policy for LSVT, ensuring that then Housing Minister included Tenant Control of transferring council housing.
He was a member of WHG in its formative years and an Independent Board member of WATMOS Housing from 2010 until 2016
In 2014/15 Sean was one of the 4 Black Country Labour leaders to instigate the setting up of the West Midlands Combined Authority and became the first Portfolio lead for Land & Housing ensuring that the first Devo deal included £200M for Brownfield remediation and Devo 2 being the only housing deal for a Combined Authority in the country.