Tories claim victory in West Midlands Mayor fight

STREET'S AHEAD: Conservative Andy Street (left) defeated Labour's
Sion Simon in the race to become West Midlands Mayor

CONSERVATIVE Andy Street has caused a major upset locally after winning the election to become the first ever West Midlands Mayor.
Mr Street, a former boss of John Lewis, won by a few thousand votes following a nail-biting run-off against Labour's Sion Simon.
While the Tory candidate had racked up the most "first preference" votes - due in no small part to a high turn-out in Solihull - he did not have the 50 per cent share required to win outright.
This meant that second preferences had to be taken into account and while Mr Simon was able to squeeze his opponent's slender majority, he still finished some 3,700 votes adrift.
The final result saw the Conservatives racking up 238,625 votes, with Labour polling 234,862.
Indeed, the contest was so close that the margin between the two candidates was equivalent to around a third of Castle Brom's population - remarkable given the size of area the victor will represent.
The outcome is a major blow to Labour; the party dominates the political landscape locally and is the largest party in six of the seven council areas that the Mayor will represent.
While Mr Simon had originally been seen as a clear favourite, his party's national polling made it increasingly apparent that the election was likely to be close.
Mr Street has suggested the result could give the Tories a new lease of life in the urban areas where they have traditionally struggled, although critics have argued that his surge in the polls will have been helped by the estimated £1million ploughed into his campaign.
Speaking shortly after his election, Mr Street said: "I want to be a Mayor who works for everyone across the West Midlands and binds all of our leaders together.
"That’s because ultimately that's what this job is all about - about building a team to champion the West Midlands, building an alliance with central government, with local people..."
Mr Simon suggested national issues such as Brexit and immigration had overshadowed local concerns when activists were out canvassing.
"It is very disappointing, obviously...Where we really lost was in the Conservative heartland of Solihull where the Conservatives, having spent millions of pounds, had a turnout a third higher than the regional average and that’s what tipped the balance."
Chelmsley Wood councillor James Burn, who had stood as the Green Party candidate, came fifth - taking just shy of 25,000 votes region-wide
Although his vote share was just below the five per cent that would have saved his deposit, he said that he had been proud of his campaign and the election had helped raise the party's profile.
Tweeting after the result was announced, Coun Burn said he was "off to find a nice strong cuppa and a chocolate brownie."