Labour hail 'phenomenal result' as party narrowly wins West Midlands mayoral race in shock Tory upset
The outcome of the contest in the key electoral battleground was critical to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after a hammering in the local elections and the loss threatens to fuel rumblings about his leadership among disgruntled MPs.
Saturday 4 May 2024 21:32, UK
Tory Andy Street has been swept from office as West Midlands mayor in a surprise win for Labour which went to the wire and was decided by just over 1,500 votes.
The victory by Labour's candidate Richard Parker dashed Mr Street's hopes of securing a third term and delivered a major blow to Rishi Sunak in the key electoral battleground after a hammering in the local elections.
With the race neck-and-neck in the end it came down to the results of one borough - Labour-supporting Sandwell - that nudged the challenger over the line.
Mr Parker defeated Mr Street by 1,508 votes - 0.25%.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "This phenomenal result was beyond our expectations.
"People across the country have had enough of Conservative chaos and decline and voted for change with Labour.
"Our fantastic new mayor Richard Parker stands ready to deliver a fresh start for the West Midlands.
"My changed Labour party is back in the service of working people, and stands ready to govern. Labour will turn the page after fourteen years of Tory decline and usher in a decade of national renewal. That change starts today."
The West Midlands loss threatens to ramp back up the pressure on the prime minister, who hoped to repeat of the success enjoyed by Conservative Ben Houchen who held on as the mayor of Tees Valley in the face of an otherwise appalling set of results, which saw Labour win the Blackpool South by-election on a swing of 26% from the Tories.
Labour's Sadiq Khan also secured a historic third term as London mayor with a convincing win over Conservative rival Susan Hall.
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Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson in the said the rebels who want to move against Mr Sunak and change leader "would have a huge amount of fuel" if the party lost "one or other or both of Teeside and West Midlands".
And the recriminations were swift to emerge.
Conservative former minister Sir Simon Clarke wrote on a Tory WhatsApp group: "These results are awful, and should be a massive wake up call.
"If we fight the same campaign in a few months, we will get the same outcome."
Mr Street had sought to distance himself from the Conservative brand during his campaign and instead ran on a personal platform.
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Sky News recently revealed Mr Street was sending out election literature with an endorsement from former prime minister Boris Johnson which urged people to "forget about the government".
His campaign website also made no mention of Mr Sunak on its homepage and was coloured in green rather than Conservative blue.
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