Conservative Mayor Ben Houchen bucks trend on disastrous night for Rishi Sunak – POLITICO

The Tees Valley mayor is a strong ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recorded a video approval. His victory in 2017 and re-election in 2021 were seen as emblematic of the Conservatives’ ability to win seats in former Labor strongholds nicknamed the “Red Wall”. Speaking on Friday, Houchen said he was “absolutely humbled” by the result.

The re-elected mayor led a personal campaign which relegated the conservative brand to the background.

But Houchen denied distancing himself from Sunak, telling Sky News: “We have absolutely no hesitation in doing that at all, and Rishi was there during the campaign and we always said Rishi was a great friend to the residents of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.

Sunak will “continue”

These results come against a backdrop of poor local election results for Sunak’s party across England.

By early Friday afternoon, the Conservatives had lost more than 100 councilors and lost key former strongholds, including Rushmoor and Redditch. Labor gained dozens of councilors and took over councils, including Thurrock and Hartlepool, the latter of which is located in the Tees Valley.

With Tory rebels already considering action against Sunak, all eyes will now be on Tory Mayor Andy Street, who is fighting to delay a Labor challenge in the West Midlands. This result will be announced on Saturday afternoon.