Keir Starmer hails 'phenomenal' West Midlands result in shock victory over Conservatives

Jaspreet Kaur & Jane Haynes

5 May 2024 at 5:30 am·2-min read

Mayor Richard Parker and Sir Keir Starmer at The ICC in Birmingham on Saturday, May 4 -Credit:Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed Labour securing victory in the West Midlands mayoral election as a 'phenomenal result' which was 'beyond our expectations.' Conservatives' Andy Street had hoped to cling on, but Labour rival Richard Parker beat him with a majority of just 1,508 votes yesterday evening (Saturday, May 4).

It is a damning, upsetting defeat for Mr Street, who had hoped his personal brand would be enough to overcome the drag of the Conservative Party. BirminghamLive reported that the victory in the eagerly anticipated contest was thought to have been 'too close to call' for days and multiple recounts were needed ahead of the result, including a full recount of the votes in Coventry.

Mr Street lost out in the end to a determined campaign by the Labour Party, whose candidate 60-year-old Parker was unknown when he was announced as being in the running last year, reported BirminghamLive. He will now represent the West Midlands, covering Coventry, Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall.

For Mr Street, despite his campaigning nous and personal support, it was a difficult finale after a gruelling effort, reports BirminghamLive. It is the end of a seven-year mayoralty that has won wide-ranging accolades for his determination to bring together people of all backgrounds 'for the good of the region.'

Conservatives' Andy Street at The ICC in Birmingham on Saturday, May 4 -Credit:Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

It was part of a double blow branded 'disappointing' by PM Rishi Sunak after Sadiq Khan secured a historic third term as Mayor of London. Labour also counted mayoral victories in Liverpool, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and Greater Manchester.

With the loss of the West Midlands, the Prime Minister is left with the sole consolation of a mayoral victory in the Tees Valley. Lord Ben Houchen retained the region for the Tories on Friday (May 3), amid denials he had sought to distance himself from the Conservative Party.

Who did Coventry vote for?

Candidate	Party	Total Votes
Harper-Nunes, Siobhan Bridget	Green Party	4,292
Parker, Richard	Labour and Co-Operative Party	32,704
Street, Andrew John	Conservative Party	23,237
Virk, Sundeep Singh	Liberal Democrats	2,711
Williams, Elaine Ruth	Reform UK	3,943
Yakoob, Akhmed	Independent	3,639

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Who did Coventry vote for?

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