West Midlands mayoral results 2024: 'Phenomenal' West Midlands win was beyond our expectations, says Starmer

→ Оригинал (без защиты от корпорастов) | Изображения из статьи: [1]

Richard Parker's "phenomenal" victory in the West Midlands mayoral election was beyond the Labour Party's expectations, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Mr Parker ousted Andy Street, the Tory incumbent, by 1,508 votes in a further blow to Rishi Sunak following a weekend of disappointing .

Labour declared victory shortly before Sandwell confirmed its result in a contest that went down to the wire. Mr Parker secured a total of 225,590 votes across the West Midlands Combined Authority, while Mr Street won 224,082.

Sir Keir said after the result: "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."

In his acceptance speech, Mr Parker hailed Andy Street for having "led this region through a number of challenges", telling him "you deserve great credit for that".

He added: "You deserve credit for building up the Combined Authority into the powerhouse it is today, through the economic shocks and leading this region through Covid... I absolutely believe that while our politics are different, Andy, we both have the best interests of the West Midlands at heart."

The new mayor then became visibly emotional as he thanked his wife and family for supporting him and "being there when I haven't been there", before urging Mr Sunak to call a general election.

The West Midlands mayor since 2017, Mr Street hoped his personal popularity, which far outstripped that of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister, would have been enough to defy the party's poor local and mayoral election performances.

Meanwhile Reform UK picked up more than 30,000 votes, helping to eat away at what was already a slim Tory majority, while Labour also shed tens of thousands of votes to a pro-Palestinian independent candidate in a foretaste of their own potential difficulties come the general election.