Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has insisted that sticking to his plan will deliver for the Tories after his party suffered shock mayoral elections losses in England’s two biggest cities on May 4.
A poll upset in the West Midlands saw Labour’s Richard Parker seize victory from outgoing Conservative mayor Andy Street by a mere 1,508 votes.
Labour stormed to victory in the London mayoral poll, with Sadiq Khan securing a historic third term in office, with a majority of some 275,000 over Conservative rival Susan Hall.
The West Midlands contest, which the Tories were on course to win, was seen as a potential lifeline in an otherwise disastrous set of results for the Conservatives.
The prime minister had hoped that a brace of wins—alongside Lord Ben Houchen’s victory in the Tees Valley mayoralty—could be enough to stave off rebellious Tory backbenchers.
Despite grumbling from some rebel voices, Mr. Sunak appeared resolute that his leadership was still right for the party and the country.
In a statement, he said: “It’s been disappointing of course to lose dedicated Conservative councillors and Andy Street in the West Midlands, with his track record of providing great public services and attracting significant investment to the area, but that has redoubled my resolve to continue to make progress on our plan.
“So we will continue working as hard as ever to take the fight to Labour and deliver a brighter future for our country.”
Suella Braverman, the Conservative former home secretary, was quick to lay the blame for Tory losses at the door of Downing Street.
She said ousting Mr. Sunak as party leader “won’t work” but wrote in the Telegraph, “The hole to dig us out of is the PM’s, and it’s time for him to start shovelling.”
Outgoing West Midlands mayor Mr. Street meanwhile urged the Conservative leader not to stray rightwards and to stick to a moderate path in order to win votes in the future.
“I would definitely not advise that drift,” he told Sky News.
“The message is clear: winning from that centre ground is what happens.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the result in the West Midlands as “phenomenal” and “beyond … expectations.”
“People across the country have had enough of Conservative chaos and decline and voted for change with Labour,” Sir Keir said. “Our fantastic new mayor Richard Parker stands ready to deliver a fresh start for the West Midlands.”
It came after his party dominated mayoral elections across England—winning in Liverpool, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester.
By the evening of May 5, results were in from all 107 councils in England that held elections on May 2, and they show that Labour has won 1,158 seats, an increase of 186, according to the BBC’s local election tracker.
The Liberal Democrats beat the Tories into second place, winning 525 seats, up 104.
The Tories are just behind on 515 seats, down nearly 474.
Meanwhile, in police and crime commissioners (PCC) elections, results are in from 32 of 33 police force areas.
The Conservatives managed to hold on to 18 of the seats after losing 10 to Labour, which now has 14 PCCs.
While the overall picture for Labour in the local polls was a positive one, it lost a smattering of council seats to independents and to George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain.
Labour candidate Richard Parker’s margin of victory over the Conservative incumbent may have been greater had former Labour voters not lent their support to independent Akhmed Yakoob, who stood on a pro-Gaza ticket.
The party failed to regain control of Oxford after a string of prominent defections over its messaging on the Middle East crisis, and in a similar blow, it lost control of Oldham Council in Greater Manchester to independents.
Labour also lost council seats to independents in Blackburn with Darwen and Bradford, while the Workers Party of Britain gained from it in Rochdale.
In Manchester, Labour deputy leader of the council Luthfur Rahman lost his seat to Shahbaz Sarwar of Mr. Galloway’s Workers Party.
Speaking at the Manchester count, Mr. Galloway proclaimed a “Sarwar family victory” and signalled this was related to Gaza.
Speaking in Birmingham, Sir Keir struck a conciliatory tone, saying he was determined to win back the trust of those who had snubbed his party in the local elections as a result of his approach to the ongoing conflict.
