Labour’s Richard Parker defeats Andy Street in tight West Midlands mayoral race after Sadiq Khan wins third term in London – live | Politics
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Sadiq Khan has officially won the London Mayoral race
The last London mayoral constituency Lambeth and Southwark announced its results which show Labor Sadiq Khan he held it.
Khan received 106,861 votes (43.8%), while Susan Hall received 26,347 (15.1%).
Havering and Redbridge, the penultimate constituency he declared was held by the Conservatives. Here, Susan Hall received 82,859 votes (48.1%) while Sadiq Khan received 50,780 (29.5%).
There was also a victory for Cannes in City and East constituency which was declared earlier. The results were:
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Sadiq Khan – 108,977
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Susan Hall – 38,626
With all the results, Khan officially wins the race for Mayor of London.
Key events
Rishi Sunak was dealt a series of crushing blows as Labor won a knife-edge battle to take over West Midlands mayoralty from the Conservatives and Sadiq Khan defeated his Tory rival in London to secure a third term, write Toby Helm, Michael Savage and Jessica Murray.
The results, along with decisive victories for Labour’s Andy Burnham in Greater ManchesterSteve Rotherham in Liverpool and Tracey Brabin in West Yorkshire, left Labor in charge of most town halls in England.
The West Midlands suffered an upset when Andy Street lost to Richard Parker by 1,508 votes, announced after a dramatic series of recounts followed by a disastrous Tory performance in Thursday’s local council elections. They finished third behind the Lib Dems in terms of seats won, for the first time since 1996.
Rishi Sunak expresses disappointment with results but insists plan is ‘working’
Rishi Sunak released a statement on the election results and admitted it was “disappointing” that Andy Street lost in the West Midlands.
But the prime minister insisted the country was “turning the corner” and that his party’s plan was “working”.
“After several difficult years following the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we as a nation are turning a corner. Our plan is working with inflation more than halved, tax cuts worth an average of £900 hitting people’s pockets, state pensions protected by our triple lock, our Rwanda Bill signed into law allowing us to start to we are detaining illegal migrants ready for the first flights, legal migration has fallen and defense spending has increased.
“We Conservatives understand the priorities of the British people and deliver on them.
“It was disappointing, of course, to lose dedicated Conservative councilors and Andy Street in the West Midlands, with his track record of delivering great public services and attracting significant investment to the area, but it has redoubled my determination to continue progressing our plan.”
“So we will continue to work as hard as ever to fight Labor and secure a brighter future for our country.”
Toby Helm
Keir Starmer was advised by his team to take an early night on Thursday before the first election results began to come out at dawn the following day.
They have booked the Labor leader into a hotel in a secret location in the North West so he can be light and airy as he celebrates an expected by-election victory in Blackpool south.
But the plan to go to bed early did not go as expected. Labour’s campaign manager Morgan McSweeney took calls from his distraught boss in the early hours until Starmer received the result from Blackpool shortly after 4.30am.
In their sleep-deprived state, the main consideration for Starmer and McSweeney was not so much the confirmation of victory – Labor’s victory was all but assured – but the size of the swing.
Keir Starmer struck a conciliatory tone, telling voters who turned away from Labor over its stance on Gaza that he was determined to regain their trust in the future.
Speaking in Birmingham, the Labor leader said: “I say directly to those who may have voted Labor in the past but felt they couldn’t in this case, that in the West Midlands we are a proud and diverse community.
“I heard you. I have listened. And I am determined to address your concerns and earn your respect and trust again in the future.
Labor lost several council seats to independents and George Galloway’s British Labor Party over its approach to the Middle East conflict.
But the party dominated the mayoral elections in England, winning in Liverpool, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and in Greater Manchester, where Andy Burnham returned to power.
As Labor celebrates strong results in this week’s local elections, the latest Opinium poll reveals the party also maintains a strong 16-point lead over the Conservatives.
Labor has 40% (-1), the Conservatives have 24% (-1) and the Lib Dems have 11% (+1). Reform falls slightly to 12% (-1), while the Green Party remains on 7% and the SNP on 3% (+1).
Rishi Sunak’s approval rating has also fallen by -6 points over the past month to -40% net, while Keir Starmer remains steady at -9% net, extending his lead to +30%.
The general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, Zara Mohammed, said: “These election results are a wake-up call for all parties: every vote counts. Politicians cannot take anyone for granted, especially not British Muslims.
“The disaffection with politicians is palpable and the response to the atrocities in Gaza is only the tip of the iceberg.
“Instead of respectful and meaningful dialogue, British Muslims face a political culture dominated by ideologues who silence their voices, question their intentions or filter their views through acceptable gatekeepers.”
Andy Street apologizes to his team and thanks the voters
The former West Midlands mayor apologized to his Conservative team after he was beaten by Richard Parker and failed to complete a hat-trick.
Thanking his team across the region, he added: “It has been an honor to lead you over the past seven years.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get that hat-trick or hat-trick, but mark my words, you’ll be back for it.”
Street thanked his fellow candidates, including Parker, for “how he conducted himself on the campaign trail” and wished him “all strength and wisdom as he takes on this role.”
And he also thanked those who voted for him on Thursday for the “trust” they had shown him, adding that “it is perhaps the most important word in politics of all”.
In the end, it wasn’t meant to be, but of course, that doesn’t mean I value that trust any less. So thank you voters.
I hope I have done so with dignity and integrity.
And I hope that I have bequeathed to Richard a combined authority and indeed a role that young aspiring leaders will want to aspire to one day.
In a way, I couldn’t do more than that.
It was a great privilege. But tonight I just wanted to say thank you and good night.
Richard Parker says he will make West Midlands a ‘roaring success’
The new West Midlands mayor said he would “make this region a resounding success” and that his election showed “people are calling for Labor and calling for change”.
This is the most important thing I will ever do, this week the people here voted for the person and the party.
They recognize that a Labor mayor can make a positive difference in this region.
You have put your trust in me and I will repay that trust – I will deliver for you and your family, I promise you that I will provide jobs, fix our public transport system, build the homes you need and give to this region the new beginning it deserves.
I will also stand up for those people who did not vote for me.
People are calling for labor and calling for change. People are looking at our party again and want us to run the country.
Richard Parker thanks Andy Street after his shock win
West Midlands Mayor-elect Richard Parker has thanked Conservative candidate Andy Street after his shock victory.
Speaking after his selection was announced, Labour’s Parker said: “Thank you first of all, thank you.”
He thanked the polling staff and added: “Thanks to Andy too [Street]you have led this region through a number of major challenges and deserve great credit for that.
“You deserve credit for building the combined powerhouse it is today through economic turmoil and for leading this region as it emerges from Covid.
“You were there representing our region, I absolutely believe that while our politics are different, Andy, we both have the best interests of the West Midlands at heart.”
Keir Starmer celebrates a “phenomenal” win in the West Midlands
The Labor leader said Labour’s victory in the West Midlands mayoral election was a “phenomenal result” that was “beyond our expectations”.
“People across the country are fed up with Conservative chaos and decay and voted for change with Labour.
“Our fantastic new Mayor, Richard Parker, is ready to make a fresh start for the West Midlands.
“My changed Labor Party is back at the service of working people and ready to govern. Labor will turn the page after 14 years of Tory decline and usher in a decade of national renewal. That change begins today.”
Richard Parker won by 1,508 votes and became Mayor of the West Midlands
Labour’s Richard Parker beat Conservative Andy Street by 1,508 votes to become mayor of the West Midlands.
Rishi Sunak would have been relieved when Ben Houchen was declared the winner of the Tees Valley mayoral election, but he can’t hide the fact that it was a very poor election result, writes Garvin Barwell, chief of staff to former prime minister Theresa Mei.
Council elections are difficult to interpret – there are a host of local factors. The best thing to look at is what is known as the national equivalent vote share. The BBC estimate at the time of writing has Labor on 34% and the Conservatives on 25%.
This tells us two important things about British politics. First – if we didn’t already know it – that the Tories are probably heading for defeat, and potentially a heavy one, in the general election later this year: 25% is as bad as they got at the nadir of John Major’s Government (David Cameron recovered from a similar low, but that was mid-term, not a few months before election day).
Despite Rishi Sunak’s best efforts, the party has actually regressed slightly in the last 12 months.
Sadiq Khan has been re-elected mayor of London with the shortest term since the post was created 24 years ago, analysis by the Electoral Reform Society shows.
The Labor politician won 43.8% of the vote, enough to secure a third term under the new first-past-the-post system.
Labor MP Ellie Reeves has just congratulated Richard Parker on his “amazing result and significant win” in the West Midlands.
Congratulations @RichParkerLab. An incredible result and a significant victory.
Across the country people voted for change and the message is clear…
It’s time for a general election and a Labor government to take back our country’s future. pic.twitter.com/ZxkHktJWbG
— Ellie Reeves (@elliereeves) May 4, 2024
Labor won three of the eight Police and Crime Commissioner elections announced on Saturday, winning Cheshire from the Conservatives and retaining the West Midlands and Merseyside.
The Conservatives comfortably held Hertfordshire and Dorset and narrowly won Warwickshire by just 306 votes, 0.26%, the Thames Valley by 2,343 (0.52%) and Wiltshire by 2,233 votes (1.79%).
Labor won nine PCCs from the Conservatives on Friday, as well as retaining five.
The party now has 17 PCCs, the same as the Conservatives, with Plaid Cymru retaining Dyfed-Powys.
There are two results to be announced on Sunday, in Kent and Sussex.
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