Tories complete super Thursday hat trick as Andy Street retains West Midlands mayoralty
Andy Street has retained the West Midlands mayoralty, providing Boris Johnson with the perfect “Tory hat trick” of victories in the super Thursday elections.
Street, a former John Lewis managing director, defeated Labour MP Liam Byrne by a larger margin of victory than in his 2016 win.
The party also won landslides in the Hartlepool by-election and the Tees Valley mayor election, which along with the West Midlands were thought to be bellwether elections for how Johnson is faring with the electorate.
Pundits said a victory in all three contests would be a great triumph for the Prime Minister and a complete disaster for Labour.
Street won with 314,669 votes to Byrne’s 267,626.
In more positive news for Labour, Liverpool City Council mayor Steve Rotheram and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have won re-election, while London mayor Sadiq Khan are expected to be re-elected today.
Labour’s Dan Norris won the West England mayoralty off the Tories, while Tracy Babin is expected to become the first West Yorkshire mayor.
It comes after a huge set of results for the Conservatives in the 143 English council elections on Thursday, which has seen the party gain more than 200 seats and gain control of 12 councils as it continues to chip away at Labour’s Red Wall in the Midlands and the North.
The Tories were able to win control of councils in places like Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth and Dudley.
The party also lost control of the Tunbridge Wells Council and Cambridgeshire Council.
The Conservatives were also able to make considerable gains in a number of local elections in traditional Labour heartlands, like Sunderland, Newcastle and County Durham.