Labour's Parker elected West Midlands mayor

Richard Parker won by just 1,500 votes



Labour's Richard Parker has been elected mayor of the West Midlands in dramatic fashion.

Six out of seven local authorities conducted vote checks and a full recount was ordered in Coventry with the race too close to call.

It will come as a huge blow to the Conservatives, who suffered heavy losses in English local elections.

Incumbent Andy Street had been in office since 2017 and was seeking a third term.

Richard Parker told the crowd at Birmingham's International Convention Centre (ICC): "This is the most important thing I will ever do.

"This week people voted for the person and the party. They recognised that a Labour mayor can make a positive difference in this region."

Mr Parker secured 225,590 votes with Mr Street coming a close second with 224,082 a margin of just 1508.

Pro-Palestine candidate Akhmed Yakoob, dubbed the TikTok lawyer, came a comfortable third place with 69,621 votes due to a healthy showing in Birmingham.

Siobhan Harper-Nunes (Green) secured 31,036 votes, Sunny Virk (Liberal Democrats) totalled 12,176 and Elaine Williams (Reform) got 34,471.

Overall turnout was down slightly on three years ago at 29.81%. That figured ranged from 34.95% in Solihull to 28.47% in Birmingham.

Solihull was the first of seven local authorities in the West Midlands to declare.

The borough gave the first indication of a tricky afternoon for Mr Street, who saw his 2021 majority there slashed by about 5,000 votes.

The next big shock came as it was revealed Mr Parker had beaten the incumbent mayor in Wolverhampton by almost 8,000 votes, Labour having lost there in 2021.

Drama continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening with the race looking too close to call on multiple occasions.

All seven local authorities took part in a partial inspection of some votes, known as a bundle check.

Mr Parker won Birmingham, the largest voting district, with 80,251 votes to Mr Street's 66,296.

The incumbent mayor picked up Wallsall and Dudley while his successor won Coventry after a full recount and, decisively, Sandwell.

"I've covered dozens of election counts in my time and can't remember one as tense as this," said the BBC's Rob Mayor as counting continued hours after a result was expected.

Andy Street 'personally devastated' over West Midlands Mayor loss



Andy Street said he was 'personally devastated' over his West Midlands Mayor loss. He spoke to Sky News after he lost the position he held over the region following a nailbiting count on Saturday.

Speaking to Sky News after the result, Andy Street was asked by presenter Sophy Ridge if he was disappointed. He said: "Well, of course. I mean, disappointed is a soft word, but we'll go with it."

She went on to add: "You say that disappointed is a soft word. What word would you choose then?" to which Mr Street responded: "I suppose I am personally devastated."

I know exactly how he feels, I was 'personally devastated' he lost too!