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Conservative Ben Houchen has won re-election to a third term as mayor of Tees Valley, a result that will come as a huge relief for Rishi Sunak.
Holding the mayoralty in the north of England was seen as one of the key tests for the prime minister at the local elections in England.
If Houchen had lost, it would have increased the panic among Tory MPs about a looming general election defeat and further destabilised Sunak’s position in No.10.
Houchen won with 53.6% of the vote – compared to 72.8% at the last election.
Labour have said swing towards Labour in Tees Valley puts the party “on track” to win every single seat in the area in a general election.
But the victory is just a bright spot on an otherwise dark night for the Tories, with the party well on course to lose hundreds of council seats across England.
Sunak conceded on Friday morning the results looked to be “obviously disappointing”.
Keir Starmer said Labour had taken a “giant step” towards forming the next government, with the party seizing control of key Tory councils including Hartlepool, Rushmoor and Redditch.
Labour also easily won the Blackpool South by-election, as the Tory vote collapsed by 32%.
Sunak will also be hoping to cling on the mayoralty in the West Midlands, another race that has been identified as crucial for his survival.
But both Houchen and Andy Street, the Tory incumbent in the West Midlands, both went out of their way to distance themselves from Sunak during their campaigns.
A Labour spokesperson said: ’This is swing towards Labour in Tees Valley puts Labour on track to win every single seat in the area in a general election.
’The Conservatives should be extremely worried that their candidate had to run as an independent to win.
’If Rishi Sunak doesn’t take this result as a major wake up call he is in denial.”
And polling guru Professor Michael Thrasher said the results were “very bad news” for the prime minister. He warned the Conservatives could be “almost annihilated” at the general election.
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