Tories in crisis after Andy Street loses his seat as West Midlands mayor, being beaten into submission by Labour - in a second key victory for Keir Starmer after Sadiq Khan beat Conservative rival in London landslide

Labour has claimed a daze triumph successful the West Midlands mayoral elections, beating Tory Andy Street.

Labour’s Richard Parker bushed him by 1,508 votes to go Mayor successful an highly adjacent contest.

It means Mr Street volition beryllium denied his 3rd term, successful a large stroke for Rishi Sunak aft a disasterous local elections.

Richard Parker appeared to beryllium each smiles with enactment members and supporters successful Birmingham, wherever the effect was acceptable to beryllium formally announced. 

Mr Parker posed for photographs portion smiling with supporters adjacent to the podium wherever the victor volition beryllium announced, but past declined to grin erstwhile asked to airs for the media, saying helium was 'nervously waiting' for the result.

Former West Midlands mayoral campaigner and MP for Birmingham's Hodge Hill, Liam Byrne, posted a representation connected societal media of himself and Mr Parker smiling with their arms raised successful an evident celebration.

Senior Labour sources suggested that determination are arsenic small arsenic 1,000 votes successful the triumph successful the tally up to the declaration, the BBC reported.

And Labour's lawman nationalist run co-ordinator and Lewisham MP Ellie Reeves posted connected X: 'Congratulations @RichParkerLab. An unthinkable effect and important victory.

'Right crossed the state radical person voted for alteration and the connection is clear... It's clip for a General Election and a Labour govt to get our country's aboriginal back.'

Both sides warned the contention was 'too adjacent to call', with the effect - initially owed astir 3pm - yet expected to travel this evening. 

Partial recounts were already happening successful Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but Coventry was re-tallied successful afloat arsenic the parties wrangled implicit each azygous vote. 

Mr Sunak was hoping Mr Street would articulation Tees Valley politician Ben Houchen successful securing a 3rd term, demonstrating that the enactment tin inactive triumph large contests.

Lord Houchen's occurrence seemingly helped Mr Sunak quell a caller coup bid from rebels, astir of whom who person present conceded the person volition not alteration earlier the wide election. 

But it is feared different decision could infame anger, with the broader representation for the Conservatives having been relentlessly grim. It is apt to extremity up losing 500 councillors successful 1 of the worst showings for 40 years. 

For the archetypal clip since 1996, the Lib Dems person won much councillors than the Conservatives astatine a circular of section elections. 

Speaking astir the West Midlands result, governmental idiosyncratic Sir John Curtice told the BBC: 'It is simply a testament to Andy Street's idiosyncratic popularity that albeit helium whitethorn person mislaid narrowly - the information that helium has tally Labour truthful adjacent I deliberation helium tin instrumentality rather immoderate sizeable recognition for.

'Because we cognize that successful the parallel Police and Commissioner predetermination the Conservatives were rather immoderate mode behind.'

Labour campaigner Simon Foster won the ballot to go West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner up of the declaration for West Midlands Mayor earlier today.

He won by astir 100,000 votes up of his Conservative rival. saying: 'The lone honour and privilege greater than being elected by our chap citizens is to beryllium re-elected by your chap citizens.'

Birmingham Labour MP Jess Phillips said that her party's hold successful calling for a Gaza ceasefire outgo them votes successful the West Midlands, earlier the effect was declared.

It comes aft Independent campaigner Akhmed Yakoob won 3rd spot successful the Birmingham effect aft campaigning connected Palestine.

A erstwhile frontbencher, Phillips broke ranks and discontinue to ballot successful favour of an SNP-led request for an 'immediate ceasefire' successful the Middle East past November.

'I'd beryllium lying if I said if I said this hasn't been an contented that wounded the Labour enactment successful this election,' she told the BBC.

'This is simply a governmental contented that the radical present attraction about.'

The Blackpool South by-election caused peculiar consternation arsenic Labour stormed the spot with a 26 constituent plaything - and the Tories lone hardly scraped into 2nd up of Reform.

And Sadiq Khan comfortably sailed to triumph against Conservative campaigner Susan Hall - securing a historical 3rd word arsenic London Mayor.

He celebrated his 'increased borderline of victory' connected the erstwhile predetermination aft helium received 1,088,225 votes, a bulk of astir 276,000 implicit Ms Hall, who secured 812,397 votes.

And helium slammed the 'non-stop negativity' of the campaigning against him aft a divisive race. He utilized his triumph code to apologise to his household for the 'threats' they had received and 'protests by our home'.

But it was not each plain sailing for Sir Keir though, with experts informing that a slump successful enactment successful areas with ample Muslim populations suggested helium was 'in trouble'. 

Labour tied up much expected victories today, with Steve Rotheram re-elected arsenic Liverpool City Region Mayor aft securing a landslide 68 per cent of the vote.

Andy Burnham emerged victorious successful Greater Manchester by 63 per cent to conscionable 10 per cent for his Tory opponent.  

Oliver Coppard was returned arsenic as South Yorkshire Mayor with 138,611 votes, astir 3 times arsenic galore arsenic the 44,945 his Conservative rival Nick Allen received. 

Earlier, Mr Sunak insisted helium tin inactive crook the concern around, saying radical are 'frustrated and wondering wherefore they should vote'. 

'The fact Labour is not winning successful places that they admit themselves they request for a majority, shows that Keir Starmer's deficiency of program and imaginativeness is hurting them,' helium said.

'We Conservatives person everything to combat for – and we volition due to the fact that we are warring for our values and our country's future.'

Mr Sunak pointed to his party's caller committedness to hike defence spending and chopped migration arsenic wide dividing lines with Labour.

But polling guru Prof John Curtice said the results demonstrated Mr Sunak has 'very small to show' for his efforts to reconstruct the Tories' fortunes aft Liz Truss's abrtive premiership.

The predetermination adept told the BBC: 'There is thing successful these results to suggest contrary to the sentiment polls that the Conservatives are really opening to constrictive the spread connected Labour, and that truthful acold astatine least, Rishi Sunak's task which has tried to retrieve from the catastrophe – from the Conservatives' constituent of presumption – of the Liz Truss fiscal event, that task has inactive got precise small to amusement for it.

'That successful a consciousness is the large takeaway.

'Now the Conservatives, arsenic erstwhile each parties bash severely successful elections, they ever privation you to absorption connected the objection alternatively than the rule, and Tees Valley and astir apt the West Midlands are the exceptions not the rule.'

On Labour losses implicit its stance connected Gaza, Sir John said: 'At the infinitesimal I deliberation what we would find if we had a wide predetermination is that Labour mightiness good autumn backmost successful immoderate of these seats, but due to the fact that the Labour Party is already truthful strong, they would astir apt inactive win successful winning the parliamentary election.

'But yep, this is simply a large connection to Labour from these section elections, is that you are so present successful occupation with immoderate of your Muslim erstwhile supporters.'

Mr Sunak suffered a stroke successful his ain backmost gait arsenic Labour took the York and North Yorkshire politician post.

The region, which covers the PM's Richmond constituency, is determination Labour has historically struggled to vie successful parliamentary elections.

Labour besides won inaugural mayoral contests successful the East Midlands and the North East, and gained 9 constabulary and transgression commissioner posts from the Tories, including successful Cumbria, Avon and Somerset, and Norfolk.

But successful a smattering of councils, the Opposition enactment mislaid seats to independents and George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, each seemingly implicit the party's stance connected Gaza.

Overall, Labour won power of 8 councils arsenic it saw a nett summation of 204 seats, portion the Liberal Democrats gained 92 seats and the Greens 58.

The Liberal Democrats' astir important triumph was winning power of Dorset assembly from the Conservatives, wherever it present has 42 of the 82 seats aft gaining 15.

The Greens fell narrowly abbreviated of taking wide power of Bristol, 1 of their apical targets, contempt gaining 10 seats.

Despite results that near the Conservatives connected way to suffer fractional the seats they contested, rebels admitted they had not persuaded capable MPs to articulation them to unit a ballot of nary assurance successful Mr Sunak's leadership.

One rebel told the Mail simply: 'We're disconnected to the pub.'

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the archetypal Tory MP to publically determination against the PM, said it was 'unlikely' that others would travel successful capable numbers to trigger a enactment contest.

'My stance is the same,' she said. 'But we are wherever we are and it is looking improbable that the MPs are going to enactment the letters in, truthful we request to propulsion together.'

Former Cabinet curate Nadine Dorries - different high-profile professional of the PM - said it would beryllium 'madness' to effort to regenerate Mr Sunak earlier the wide election, adding that it would 'make nary difference' to the result.

One rebel root said it was wide that Mr Sunak would 'limp connected to the election', adding: 'We're not kamikaze pilots. In the end, determination are excessively galore MPs with their heads stuck successful the soil for it to work.'