West Midlands Mayoral Election On A Knife Edge As Recount Ordered
Andy Street (Alamy) 3 min read31 min 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. 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 after his party managed to hang onto Ben Houchen in Tees Valley on Saturday. But whatever the result in the West Midlands Tory MPs do not believe a leadership challenge will be made against the prime minister. Early on Saturday evening, Street had won the Solihull region, but by a smaller margin than he achieved in 2021, with 62 per cent of the vote compared to 68 when the West Midlands mayorlty was last contested in 2021. Meanwhile Parker received 21 per cent of the vote, up from15 per cent at the previous election. In Wolverhampton, Parker beat Street with more than 26,000 to fewer than 19,000 votes. The area was won by the Conservatives in 2021. Labour also won …