Battle for West Mids mayor 'too close to call': Andy Street struggles to fend off Labor challenge as Rishi Sunak puts a brave face on local election carnage – telling battered Tories they still have always 'having everything to fight for'

The battle for West Midlands mayor is on a razor's edge today Rishi Sunak hoping for a positive sign local elections massacre.

Andy Street is trying to hold out against a challenge from Labour's Richard Parker, with both sides warning the result is 'too close to call'.

Mr Sunak is willing for Mr Street to join Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen in securing a third term, showing the party can still win big games.

Lord Houchen's success has apparently helped Mr Sunak quell another coup attempt by the rebels, most of whom have now admitted there will be no change in leader before the general election.

However, the wider picture for the Conservatives was brutally grim, with the party likely to ultimately lose 500 councilors in one of its worst showings in forty years.

The Blackpool South by-election caused a particular stir as Labor stormed the seat with a 26-point swing – and the Tories barely finished second, ahead of Reform.

However, it has not all been smooth sailing for Sir Keir, with experts warning that a drop in support in areas with large Muslim populations indicated he was 'in trouble'.

Labor secured more expected victories today, with Steve Rotheram re-elected as mayor of the Liverpool city region after securing a crushing 68 percent of the vote.

Andy Burnham won in Greater Manchester with 63 percent, compared to just 10 percent for his Tory opponent.

Oliver Coppard was returned as mayor of South Yorkshire with 138,611 votes, almost three times the 44,945 received by his Conservative rival Nick Allen.

Sunak previously insisted he can still change the situation, saying people are 'frustrated and wondering why they should vote'.

'The fact Work not winning in places where they themselves admit they need a majority, shows that Keir Starmer“The lack of plan and vision is hurting them,” he said.

'We Conservatives have everything to fight for – and we will do so because we are fighting for our values ​​and the future of our country.”

Mr Sunak pointed to his party's recent pledges to increase defense spending and reduce migration as clear dividing lines with Labour.

But polling guru Prof John Curtice said the results showed Sunak has 'very little to show' for his efforts to restore the Tories' fortunes after Liz Truss' failed premiership.

The election expert told the BBC: 'Nothing in these results suggests, contrary to the opinion polls, that the Conservatives are actually starting to close the gap with Labour, and that so far at least Rishi Sunak's project has tried to recover from After the disaster – from the Conservatives' perspective – of Liz Truss's budget event, that project still has little to offer.

“That's the big takeaway, in a way.

'Now, as when all parties do poorly at elections, the Conservatives always want you to focus on the exception rather than the rule, and Tees Valley and probably the West Midlands are the exceptions and not the rule.'

On Labour's losses as a result of its position on Gaza, Sir John said: 'At the moment I think what we would find if we had a general election is that Labor could fall back in some of these seats, but because If the Labor Party were as strong as it was, they would probably still manage to win the parliamentary elections.

'But yes, this is an important message to Labor from these local elections: you are indeed in trouble now with some of your former Islamist supporters.'

Sunak suffered a blow in his own backyard when Labor took over the mayoral post of York and North Yorkshire.

The region, which covers the Prime Minister's constituency of Richmond, is a place where Labor has historically struggled to compete in parliamentary elections.

Labor also won the first mayoral contests in the East Midlands and the North East, winning nine police and crime commissioner posts from the Tories, including in Cumbria, Avon and Somerset, and Norfolk.

But in a few councils the opposition party lost seats to independent parties and George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, apparently all because of the party's position on Gaza.

In total, Labor won control of eight councils as it saw a net gain of 204 seats, while the Liberal Democrats won 92 seats and the Greens 58.

The Liberal Democrats' most significant victory was capturing control of Dorset Council from the Conservatives, where the council now has 42 of the 82 seats, after gaining 15 seats.

The Greens narrowly failed to take overall control of Bristol, one of their main targets, despite gaining 10 seats.

Despite results that saw the Conservatives lose half the seats they contested, the rebels admitted they had not persuaded enough MPs to join them in defeating a vote of no confidence in Sunak's leadership to force.

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

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the first Tory MP to publicly oppose the Prime Minister, said it was “unlikely” others would follow in sufficient numbers to spark a leadership battle.

“My position is the same,” she said. 'But we are where we are and it seems unlikely that MPs will put the letters in, so we need to join forces.'

Former minister Nadine Dorries – another high-profile critic of the Prime Minister – said it would be “madness” to try to replace Mr Sunak before the general election, adding it would “make no difference” to the outcome.

One rebel source said it was clear Mr Sunak would 'limp through to the election', adding: 'We are not kamikaze pilots. Ultimately, too many MPs have their heads in the sand to make it work.'