Andy Street sends message to Rishi Sunak after West Midlands mayoral election loss

Andy Street sends message to PM after West Midlands loss

Andy Street has sent a clear and forthright message to Rishi Sunak after he failed to be re-elected as West Midlands mayor. The Tory politician and business man agonisingly missed out on being returned to his office.

He was pipped at the post by Labour's Richard Parker, who graciously thanked his opponent for all his hard work in his victory speech. Mr Parker secured a very narrow victory in the mayoral election in a major upset for the Tories.

He won by a sender thin majority of 1,508 votes - securing 37.8 percent of the vote, while Mr Street got 37.5 percent. Andy Street later appeared on Sky News and was asked what message he had for Britain's Prime Minister after his defeat.

The former Tory mayor said voters had consistently told him at the doorstep that "he had got the job done".

Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure from Tory rebels (Image: Getty)

So he advised the Prime Minister to pay heed to the words of the West Midlamds' voters. He said: "Concentrate on the job and getting that done. That's what the people want.

"They want confidence in their politicians to deliver. That is the message I think from here tonight." Mr Street did not always see eye-to-eye with the PM during his tenure as West Midlands mayor.

In particular he was particularly disappointed by No 10's decision to scrap the HS2 northern leg. He admitted in an interview with the BBC he had almost quit the party over the issue.

Labour were jubilant after securing the mayoralty, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailing it as a "phenomenal result" which was "beyond our expectations".

He said the Tories tried to use Andy Street as a "crutch" for Rishi Sunak's weak leadership, but were wrong. Sir Keir went on to urge Rishi Sunak to call a General Election, saying the UK has "had enough of 14 years of decline, chaos and division."

The Labour leader added the British public wanted "to usher in national renewal with Labour."