Rishi Sunak was dealt a series of shattering blows last night as Labour won a knife-edge battle to seize the West Midlands mayoralty from the Conservatives and Sadiq Khan trounced his Tory rival in London to secure a third term.
The results, along with decisive victories for Labour’s Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, Steve Rotheram in Liverpool and Tracy Brabin in West Yorkshire, left Labour in charge of most of England’s mayoralties.
The West Midlands upset, announced after a dramatic series of recounts, followed a disastrous showing for the Tories in Thursday’s local council elections. They finished third behind the Liberal Democrats in the number of seats won, for the first time 1996.
Writing exclusively for the Observer, Labour leader Keir Starmer says that Sunak has no option but to call a general election immediately to avoid further damage being inflicted on the country by his paralysed government and deeply divided party.
“Tragically, Britain is now the victim of a zombie government, stuck in purgatory with a prime minister who won’t call an election he fears he’ll lose, but can’t give this country the change it deserves. Dragging this out will only cause more damage, more decline and more drift.”
Starmer said the results, in which Labour gained 185 council seats while the Tories lost 473, showed how all parts of the country were coming together behind a national project under Labour that would heal old divides, including those over Brexit and arguments of Scottish independence.
“My changed party is for anyone who loves this country, aspires for themselves and their family, and knows we can all do better than this.
“Winning the trust of people across past divides, such as leave and remain or yes and no in Scotland, is vital. Our country should demand a brighter future, and it’s only by coming together, we can secure it.”
Despite a late rush of wild speculation that he was in trouble in the race for the London mayoralty, Khan easily secured a third term, increasing his vote share to 44%, finishing 11% ahead of his Conservative rival Susan Hall. She had focused her campaign on attacking Khan’s decision to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez).
In his victory speech at City Hall, Khan reinforced Starmer’s call for a general election. “For the last eight years, London has been swimming against the tide of a Tory government, and now, with a Labour party that’s ready to govern again under Keir Starmer, it’s time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice.
“A general election will not just pave the path to a new direction for our country, but it will make bold action Londoners want to see a reality.”
After Ben Houchen provided a rare positive result for the Conservatives on Friday by retaining the Tees Valley mayoralty, the Tories were pinning their hopes on Andy Street hanging on in the West Midlands to provide them with a positive narrative of success from the regions.
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But although Street had seemed to be edging ahead in a close contest until early yesterday afternoon, word then got out that Labour’s Richard Parker had pulled off a sensational win but by such narrow margin that Street’s team had asked for recounts. The only full recount was in Coventry, while “bundle checks” were carried out across other parts of the West Midlands.
Rebel Tory MPs had been threatening to move against Sunak if the results were at the worse end of Tory expectation, but backed off after Houchen’s win on Friday. Now the threat to him may be reignited when MPs return to parliament on Tuesday.
Tory MP Martin Vickers, a member of the executive of the 1922 committee of backbenchers, urged his colleagues to stop any talk of a coup and rally behind Sunak. “After 14 years, the chances are you are going to have a change of government but you don’t give up on that basis. You fight against it, try to minimise losses and hope something turns up. Who knows what crises might occur during the next three or four months?”
In further ominous news, the latest Opinium poll for the Observer shows another fall in Sunak’s personal approval ratings, which plummeted by a further six points from a fortnight ago to -40. Starmer’s rating remained stable at -9. Overall, it showed that Labour has maintained a 16-point lead over the Conservatives.
With concerns growing over the threat from Reform UK – which almost pushed the Tories into third place in the Blackpool South byelection – Vickers has joined calls for Jeremy Hunt to announce further tax cuts is his autumn statement.
Another senior Tory on the right of the party said: “We just need more robust Tory policies, particularly on the visceral issues like crime and punishment, public order, immigration and asylum.”
However, writing in the Observer, Gavin Barwell, the former Tory MP and chief of staff to Theresa May in Downing St, says that many of those eyeing the leadership did not want to take over now “and be blamed for the inevitable defeat”. He also argues that there is “probably nothing Sunak or anyone else can do to avert defeat” following the reputational damage inflicted on the Tory brand by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.