Keir hails a ‘significant’ moment for party amid Conservative rout
CLAIRE’S VICTORY WAS DOWN TO POSITIVITY, SAYS LABOUR LEADER ON THE HOME PATCH OF DEFEATED TORY
LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer has described the result of the East Midlands Mayor election as a “very significant moment” in the history of his party.
Sir Keir visited the Forest Town Arena in Mansfield on Saturday, less than 24 hours after Claire Ward was confirmed as the winner of the mayoral race.
Around 180 people were there to greet the Labour leader, including scores of his candidates standing in East Midlands constituencies at the next general election. Labour sources said the availability of venues large enough was one of the reasons why Sir Keir ended up in Mansfield, but the party was fully aware that it was parking its tanks on the lawn of Mansfield MP Ben Bradley, who finished second in the mayoral race.
Addressing the crowd on Saturday, Labour’s leader stood alongside Claire Ward and said: “You fought for this with a very, very positive campaign. I came here myself to campaign with you and was struck by the positivity of the case you were making.
“You were rewarded with the trust and confidence of the voters in the East Midlands – a really, really important area for us. The underlying constituencies, the voters across the whole of the East Midlands came out and voted Labour and that is a very significant moment in our history.
“When the history books are written about this period of our political history in the United Kingdom, this will be part of that story – the day you were able to persuade people that we are a changed
Labour Party.” Ms Ward’s first official day in office will be on Tuesday, with the East Midlands Combined County Authority she leads having its main office in Chesterfield.
Meanwhile, across the border, Labour’s shock victory in the West Midlands mayoral election was a “phenomenal result” which was “beyond our expectations”, Sir Keir said, as the Conservatives were trounced in the local elections.
Tory candidate Andy Street had hoped to cling on in the West Midlands, but Labour challenger Richard Parker beat him with a majority of just 1,508 votes.
The Conservative loss was part of a double blow branded “disappointing” by the Prime Minister after Labour’s Sadiq Khan secured a historic third term as Mayor of London. “This phenomenal result was beyond our expectations,” Sir Keir said.
“People across the country have had enough of Conservative chaos and decline and voted for change with Labour. Our fantastic new mayor Richard Parker stands ready to deliver a fresh start for the West Midlands.”
But Sir Keir struck a conciliatory tone as he told voters who had turned away from Labour over its stance on Gaza he was determined to win their trust again in the future.
Speaking in Birmingham, the Labour leader said: “I say directly to those who may have voted Labour in the past but felt that on this occasion that they couldn’t that across the West Midlands we are a proud and diverse community.
“I have heard you. I have listened. And I am determined to meet your concerns and to gain your respect and trust again in the future.”
Labour has lost seats in a smattering of councils to independents and George Galloway’s Worker’s Party of Britain over its approach to the conflict in the Middle East.
But the party dominated mayoral elections across England, winning in Liverpool, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and in Greater Manchester, where Andy Burnham returned to power.
This was despite a move to a firstpast-the-post system of voting in all mayoral elections which critics said would favour the Conservatives.
It was only in the Tees Valley mayoral contest where the Prime Minister could take solace in a Tory victory. Lord Ben Houchen retained the region for the Tories on Friday, amid denials he had sought to distance himself from the Conservatives during the campaign.
Mr Street’s loss may have an impact on the Prime Minister’s defence against backbench Tory challenges to his authority.
The Prime Minister urged his party to stick with his leadership and his plan for Government.
Suella Braverman, the Conservative former home secretary was quick out of the gate to lay the blame for Tory losses at the door of Downing Street.
But she insisted ousting the party leader “won’t work”, adding: “The hole to dig us out of is the PM’s, and it’s time for him to start shovelling.”
She urged Mr Sunak to adopt “strong leadership, not managerialism” on tax, migration, the small boats and law and order.
You fought for this with a very, very positive campaign...You were rewarded with the trust of the voters. Keir Starmer