Labour pulls off shock victory in West Midlands as Tory Andy Street toppled

Andy Street has been ousted as Mayor of the West Midlands in a knife-edge contest.

Labour’s Richard Parker secured a sensational surprise victory after winning by a tight margin. Party sources have told the Mirror they are confident they have won.

The result came after a nail-biting few hours that saw a recount of all ballots cast in Coventry because it was so close.

Mr Street, who is the former boss of John Lewis boss, has held the role since 2017. Despite being the Conservative candidate, he has attempted to distance himself from Rishi Sunak, including criticising his decision to cancel the northern leg of HS2 beyond Birmingham.

The result comes after the Tories have faced a difficult couple of days, losing over 450 council seats across England.

Labour won inaugural mayoral contests in York and North Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the North East, and gained nine police and crime commissioner posts from the Tories, including in Cumbria, Avon and Somerset, and Norfolk.

Labour also took a Tory scalp by winning the Blackpool South by-election. But the Conservative Ben Houchen managed to survive as Tees Valley Mayor despite a swing to Labour.

In a newspaper article on Saturday, Rishi Sunak claimed the Conservatives have “everything to fight for” ahead of the general election.

* Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook.

We’ll be bringing you the latest updates on this Breaking Politics News story.

Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story HERE. Get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters.
Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following The Mirror every time you see our name.

• Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community – CLICK HERE
• Follow The Mirror on Google News – CLICK HERE and click the star
• Follow The Mirror on Apple News – CLICK HERE available on Apple devices
• Follow The Mirror on Flipboard – CLICK HERE and click follow

You can sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news here @MirrorBreaking_ and follow us https://twitter.com/MirrorPolitics for all the latest updates.
Keep up-to-date with your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MirrorPolitics/. See all our social accounts you can follow here: mirror.co.uk/social