West Midlands Mayoral Election Update
The West Midlands mayoral election is on a knife edge with a recount ordered by the Tories in Coventry after it was considered to be unclear whether Labour or Conservatives had clinched the mayoralty.
Key Points:
- A victory for Richard Parker, the Labour candidate, over Tory incumbent Andy Street would be a significant blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s authority.
- Street had won the Solihull region, but by a smaller margin than he achieved in 2021.
- Parker beat Street in Wolverhampton with more than 26,000 to fewer than 19,000 votes.
- Labour also won Birmingham by almost 15,000 votes.
Implications of the Election:
Defeat for the Conservatives would represent a decisive change in the West Midlands where Street has held the mayoralty since its creation in 2017.
Current Polling Data:
Nationally the Conservatives remain significantly behind in the national polls. YouGov have the Conservatives on 20 per cent and Labour on 45 per cent.
Candidate Information:
Parker was selected as Labour candidate in April 2023. He was previously a partner for PwC after having worked for the company for more than three decades.
Candidate Statements:
Prior to the vote, Parker told PoliticsHome he believed politics in the region was changing and claimed his operation was not paying too close attention to opinion polling.
“We think the politics in this region are changing but we also know the key thing will be for people to vote, so we’re genuinely not taking notice of the polls, we just need to know that we need to campaign hard and get the people that want to vote for us to vote for Labour,” he said.
