West Midlands Mayoral election result: Labour's Richard Parker beats Andy Street by just 1,500 votes
Labour's Richard Parker has pulled off a sensational victory to oust Andy Street as West Midlands Mayor.
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The Conservatives were hoping Mr Street could provide a morale-boosting win for them after the party lost more than 470 councillors in this year's local elections, as well as mayoral races in the North East, York and North Yorkshire and the East Midlands.
But their hopes were dashed when Mr Parker was declared the winner at Birmingham's International Convention Centre.
Both the Tories and Labour had predicted a close contest, and that's how it played out with the winning margin being just 1,508.
A recount in Coventry showed the tension, though Labour won in that authority by more than 9,000 votes.
Labour also won in Birmingham, Sandwell and Wolverhampton, with the Tories coming out on top in Dudley, Solihull and Walsall.
After six declarations, Mr Street led with 205,484 votes, compared to Mr Parker's 194,029, meaning Labour needed 11,446 more votes in the final count of Sandwell to emerge victorious.
In the end Labour had an advantage of 12,963 votes in Sandwell, with Mr Parker finishing on 225,590, compared to Mr Street's 224,082.
Mr Parker began his victory speech by thanking Mr Street.
Paying tribute, he praised his predecessor and said: "You have led this region through a number of great challenges and you deserve great credit for that.
"You deserve credit for building up the Combined Authority into the powerhouse it is, through the economic shocks and leading the region when it came out of Covid.
"You've been out there representing our region and I absolutely believe that while our politics are different, we both have the best interests of the West Midlands at heart.
An emotional Mr Parker then thanked supporters and voters, including his wife.
"This is the most important thing I will ever do," he continued.
"This week people here voted for the person and the party. They recognise that a Labour 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 families. I promise you that I will deliver jobs, we will fix our public transport system, we will build the homes you need, and we will give this region the fresh start it richly deserves."
Mr Parker has promised to work with council leaders across the region, saying he will 'stand up and support them', before turning his attention to the PM.
"Up and down the country people are calling for a fresh start. I hope the Prime Minister is watching as well, because in case you haven't heard Rishi Sunak, our people are calling for a general election."
Taking to the lectern after Mr Parker, the outgoing Mayor thanked his opponents for the "courteous" campaign.
He went on to congratulate the Labour winner, saying: "I wish him all the strength and wisdom as he takes on this role."
Mr Street apologised he couldn't secure a hat-trick of election wins for the Conservatives.
Reflecting on his time as Mayor, "It has been my honour to lead and to serve this place for the last seven years. I hope I have done it with dignity and integrity and I hope I've bequeathed to Richard a Combined Authority and a role to which young aspiring leaders will want to aspire one day.
"In a sense I could have done no more than that.
"It has been a great privilege but tonight, I just want to say thank you and goodnight."
In Birmingham, independent candidate Akhmed Yakoob, who focused his campaign on the situation in Gaza, and Labour's initial unwillingness to call for a ceasefire, pulled in 42,923 votes.
Speaking to the BBC earlier in the day, Labour’s Jess Phillips, a Birmingham MP who quit the shadow front bench over Sir Keir Starmer's stance on the Israel-Hamas war, said she believed her party’s initial refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza had cost them votes.
“I’d be lying if I said if I said this hasn’t been an issue that hurt the Labour party in this election," she said.
"This is a political issue that the people here care about."
Earlier in the day, Labour also won the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner election.
Incumbent Simon Foster retained his office and enjoyed a 4.5 per cent swing towards him, attracting 327,844 votes compared to Conservative candidate Thomas Byrne's 241,827.
Full West Midlands Mayoral election results by region
Birmingham
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party - 12,879
Richard Parker, Labour - 80,251
Andy Street, Conservative - 66,296
Sunny Virk, Liberal Democrat - 3,722
Elaine Williams, Reform UK - 9,086
Akhmed Yakoob, Independent - 42,923
Coventry
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party - 4,292
Richard Parker, Labour - 32,704
Andy Street, Conservative - 23,237
Sundeep Virk, Liberal Democrat - 2,711
Elaine Williams, Reform UK - 3,943
Akhmed Yakoob, Independent - 3,639
Dudley
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party - 2,913
Richard Parker, Labour - 24,807
Andy Street, Conservative - 37,345
Sundeep Virk, Liberal Democrat - 1,163
Elaine Williams, Reform UK - 5,431
Akhmed Yakoob, Independent - 3,874
Sandwell
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party - 2,722
Richard Parker, Labour - 31,561
Andy Street, Conservative - 18,598
Sundeep Virk, Liberal Democrat - 1,201
Elaine Williams, Reform UK - 4,347
Akhmed Yakoob, Independent - 7,026
Solihull
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party - 3,582
Richard Parker, Labour - 11,728
Andy Street, Conservative - 35,289
Sundeep Virk, Liberal Democrat - 1,546
Elaine Williams, Reform UK - 2,887
Akhmed Yakoob, Independent - 1,454
Walsall
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party - 2,127
Richard Parker, Labour - 18,097
Andy Street, Conservative - 24,735
Sundeep Virk, Liberal Democrat - 847
Elaine Williams, Reform UK - 5,247
Akhmed Yakoob, Independent - 8,451
Wolverhampton
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party - 2,521
Richard Parker, Labour - 26,442
Andy Street, Conservative - 18,582
Sundeep Virk, Liberal Democrat - 986
Elaine Williams, Reform UK - 3,530
Akhmed Yakoob, Independent - 2,254
Total
Siobhan Harper-Nunes, Green Party - 31,036
Richard Parker, Labour - 225,590
Andy Street, Conservative - 224,082
Sundeep Virk, Liberal Democrat - 12,176
Elaine Williams, Reform UK - 34,471
Akhmed Yakoob, Independent - 69,621
West Midlands Mayor election turnout
Birmingham
Electorate - 760,404
Total verified votes - 216,492
Turnout - 28.47 per cent
Coventry
Electorate - 241,267
Total verified votes - 71,215
Turnout - 29.52 per cent
Dudley
Electorate - 234,612
Total verified votes - 76,116
Turnout - 32.44 per cent
Sandwell
Electorate - 232,636
Total verified votes - 66,296
Turnout - 28.50 per cent
Solihull
Electorate - 162,529
Total verified votes - 56,805
Turnout - 34.95 per cent
Walsall
Electorate - 199,862
Total verified votes - 59,983
Turnout - 30.01 per cent
Wolverhampton
Electorate - 187,236
Total verified votes - 54,806
Turnout - 29.27 per cent
Total
Electorate - 2,018,546
Total verified votes - 601,713
Turnout - 29.81 per cent