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UK local elections LIVE: Tories suffer double mayoral election losses in London and West Midlands - with Rishi Sunak warned he could face fresh rebel coup bid

5 months ago 22

By Matthew Lodge

Published: 07:33 BST, 5 May 2024 | Updated: 07:49 BST, 5 May 2024

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The fallout continues after it was confirmed that the Conservative's lost both the London and West Midlands mayoral elections after the chastening loss of nearly 500 council seats.

With Labour crowing and its leader Sir Keir Starmer calling for a General Election, Rishi Sunak has been warned he could face a fresh rebel coup bid from unhappy MPs.

The final tallies from last week's elections will also come through today, with results outstanding in one council and two police and crime commissioner votes.

Follow MailOnline's live coverage of the local election results and the fallout across the country below: 

Rishi Sunak insists his party's plan 'is working'

Rishi Sunak has admitted it was 'disappointing' that Andy Street lost, but insisted the country was 'turning a corner' and that his party's plan 'is working'.

Tory rebels are lining up to stick the knife into the Prime Minister as they warned that the 'gamechanging' defeat meant Mr Sunak could now face a fresh bid to oust him - although other MPs reiterated their view it was too late.

But Mr Sunak remains defiant, insisting that the Tory party 'understand the priorities of the British people and are delivering on them'.

You can read his full response here:

WATCH: The moment it was confirmed the Tories had lost the West Midlands mayoralty

Labour crow after their shock victory in the West Midlands

Jubilant Kier Starmer last night hailed Lbaour's victory in the West Midlands mayoral election as a 'phenomenal result'.

Labour's Richard Parker beat Tory incumbant Andy Street by 1,508 votes to become Mayor in an extremely close contest.

Talking after the result, Street said he was 'incredibly proud' he had lost by such a thin margin, despite being 'personally devastated' by the result.

He said: 'Given that this has always been a place where some people said you should never have won in the first place, I'm actually very, very proud of what we've done.

'The thing everyone should take from Birmingham in the West Midlands tonight is this brand of moderate, inclusive, tolerant conservatism that gets on and delivered has come within an ace of beating the Labour Party in, what they considered to be their backyard.'

You can read the immediate reaction to that result below:

What were the key results on Saturday?

If you spent Saturday away from your phone or the news, the biggest thing you may have missed was the results of the London and West Midlands mayoral elections.

Labour's Sadiq Khan won a historic third term as Mayor of London, fending off the Tory Susan Hall with an increased share of the vote.

There had been some late jitters within Labour after initial polls suggested lower than expected turnout in some key Labour areas, but in the end he won with a maority of nealry 276,000 votes.

But it was the loss of Conservative Andy Street in the West Midlands that will have dented egos within the Tory party after he fell by just 1,500 votes to Labour's Richard Parker (pictured together below)

Sir Keir Starmer hailed it as a 'phenomenal result' for Labour, given the strength of Street's personal brand and popularity among swing voters.

 Conservative party candidate Andy Street and Labour candidate for West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker on stage following the declaration for West Midlands Mayor on May 04, 2024 in Birmingham, England. On the ballot for the West Midlands mayoral election, was incumbent Conservative Andy Street who was seeking a third term since his initial election in 2017, but was defeated by Richard Parker of Labour by 1,508 votes. (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

Good morning

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline's coverage of the UK local elections and reaction to the results.

It has been a chastening 48 hours for the Conservatives, losing key mayoral races as well as hundreds of council seast across England.

The fallout is continuing and with more results set to come through today, kep your eyes peeled to our live blog for the latest updates.

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