Labour’s Steve Rotheram wins Liverpool mayoral election
Steve Rotheram has been re-elected as Liverpool mayor.
“Thanks to the people of the Liverpool City Region for putting your faith in me once again. I promise I won’t let you down. We’re taking back our future,” he wrote on X.
Rotheram beat his nearest rival by more than 156,000 votes, resulting in 68% of the vote share and increasing his vote share by 9.7 points.
He has urged prime minister Rishi Sunak to call a general election saying “we are ready when you are” and criticised the government’s “regressive voter ID laws”.
Speaking after he was re-elected, he said: “To those who were unable to have their voices heard because of the Government’s regressive ID laws, I understand your disappointment, I met many people on the doorstep who couldn’t vote and I think its wrong to deny a single person their democratic right to vote.
“But today the people in our area have not only spoken, they’ve hollered at the top of their voices, with two simple and clear messages: To the Government, enough is enough, and locally, Labour is delivering in power.”
Here is a full breakdown of the result:
Key events
Sadiq Khan wins North East (Hackney, Islington, Waltham Forest)
Like buses, you wait for one and then they come along all at once … Another mayoral election result has been declared and this time it’s the North East (Hackney, Islington, Waltham Forest):
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Sadiq Khan – 127,455
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Susan Hall – 34,099
Voter turnout in this constituency was 39.57%.
Sadiq Khan wins West Central
Sadiq Khan has won in West Central (Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster), taking it from the Conservatives.
Khan has received 11,076 more votes than Susan Hall. In 2021, Tory Shaun Bailey beat Khan in this constituency.
In 2024:
Sadiq Khan – 54,481
Susan Hall – 43,405
In 2021 (first preferences):
Sadiq Khan – 51,508
Shaun Bailey – 53,713
Alan Rusbridger, editor of Prospect and former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, has shared his thoughts on Boris Johnson’s efforts to use his Prospect magazine sleeve, on which his name and address had been printed, as voter ID.
“Delighted Boris Johnson is a subscriber to Prospect. Warning to potential subscribers: the magazine is miraculous in many ways, but may not be used as photo ID,” tweeted Rusbridger.
Steve Rotheram has accused Rishi Sunak of “squatting in Downing Street”, according to a report by the Press Association (PA).
The re-elected Liverpool City Region mayor said:
The prime minister is squatting in Downing Street and I say, come out and face the voters, Mr Sunak, call a general election, we’re ready when you are, but while we’re waiting our work will continue unabated.”
He added:
This result isn’t just a rejection of the Tories, voters in our city region aren’t easily kidded, it’s a ringing endorsement of what we’re doing locally too, and they weren’t hoodwinked by pie-in-the sky populist pledges.
It’s no less dishonest, you know, to promise to deliver undeliverable things locally than it is to advertise to £350m a week for our NHS on the side bus if we left the EU.
It appears that for some, mud slinging and smear tactics are still the weapon of choice in the armoury of the deceitful and desperate.”
Sadiq Khan wins in Merton and Wandsworth
Back to the London mayoral election results. As mentioned via James Ball’s post on X, Merton and Wandsworth has declared its result. It’s another win for Sadiq Khan. Here are the results:
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Sadiq Khan – 84,725
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Susan Hall – 50,097
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Zoë Garbett – 9646
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Rob Blackie – 13,153
Labour condemns party source’s ‘racist’ West Midlands comment
Geneva Abdul
Labour has condemned a “racist” comment provided by an unnamed party source to the BBC after it lost support in heavily Muslim areas.
The source told the BBC they believed the West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, was on course to win as a result of the “Middle East not West Midlands” and called Hamas the “real villains”.
The comment, which was swiftly condemned by the Labour party and MPs on Friday, comes as results are expected in the London and West Midlands mayoral elections. Campaigners have warned that the party has lost ground over its stance on Gaza.
“It’s the Middle East not West Midlands that will have won Street the mayoralty, once again Hamas are the real villains,” the source told BBC West Midlands.
On Friday, Labour MPs from Birmingham called the comment “vile racism” and said the individual should be “immediately” thrown out of the party.
“Such anti-Muslim bigotry will only serve to alienate a community that has long supported Labour in its efforts to transform this country for the better,” said Tahir Ali, the Labour MP for Birmingham, Hall Green.
Jess Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, said: “I’m glad that the Labour party have quickly condemned it. Journalists should I think be clearer [about] the nature of the source because this could just be some complete idiot no-mark with a Labour sticker on.”
Echoing their remarks on Saturday, Ellie Reeves, Labour’s deputy national campaign coordinator, said the language was “unacceptable” and had “racist undertones”.
James Ball, political editor at the New European, says on X that the mayoral results in Greenwich and Lewisham mark a “good start” for Sadiq Khan.
He’s compared the Labour and Conservative votes of 2024 with those of the mayoral election in 2021.
Good start for Sadiq Khan in Greenwich and Lewisham (the mayoralty results declare in 14 subdivisions).
In 2024:
Sadiq Khan: 83,942
Susan Hall: 36,822Versus 2021 first prefs:
Sadiq Khan: 76,731
Shaun Bailey 43,306— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) May 4, 2024
Ball notes that “the good start for Khan continues in Merton and Wandsworth”.
The good start for Khan continues in Merton and Wandsworth:
In 2024:
Sadiq Khan: 84,725
Susan Hall: 50,976Versus 2021 first prefs:
Sadiq Khan: 76,403
Shaun Bailey 59,460— James Ball (@jamesrbuk) May 4, 2024
For those wanting to check his working, he’s shared it in this thread.
Jessica Murray
Jessica Murray is at the West Midlands mayor count in Birmingham:
Andy Street has arrived at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham where the results of the West Midlands mayoral election are due to be announced this afternoon.
Polls have shown Street and Labour candidate Richard Parker are neck and neck, but sources inside Labour were yesterday claiming the Conservatives had won it.
They were suggesting Labour’s stance on Gaza could have lost the party many votes in areas with large Muslim populations.
The result looks set to be incredibly close and all eyes will be on the region to see who comes out on top.
Labour’s Oliver Coppard wins South Yorkshire mayoral race
Oliver Coppard has been re-elected for a second term as mayor of South Yorkshire.
Coppard retained his job as South Yorkshire Mayor with 138,611 votes (50.9% of the vote share), with Conservative Nick Allen second with 44,945.
More details to follow…
Labour’s Steve Rotheram wins Liverpool mayoral election
Steve Rotheram has been re-elected as Liverpool mayor.
“Thanks to the people of the Liverpool City Region for putting your faith in me once again. I promise I won’t let you down. We’re taking back our future,” he wrote on X.
Rotheram beat his nearest rival by more than 156,000 votes, resulting in 68% of the vote share and increasing his vote share by 9.7 points.
He has urged prime minister Rishi Sunak to call a general election saying “we are ready when you are” and criticised the government’s “regressive voter ID laws”.
Speaking after he was re-elected, he said: “To those who were unable to have their voices heard because of the Government’s regressive ID laws, I understand your disappointment, I met many people on the doorstep who couldn’t vote and I think its wrong to deny a single person their democratic right to vote.
“But today the people in our area have not only spoken, they’ve hollered at the top of their voices, with two simple and clear messages: To the Government, enough is enough, and locally, Labour is delivering in power.”
Here is a full breakdown of the result:
First London borough declares its mayoral vote result
Sadiq Khan won 83,792 votes in Greenwich and Lewisham, the first London borough to declare its mayoral vote, with Conservative Susan Hall on 36,822 and Zoe Garbett of the Greens third with 11,209.
After reports that the London mayoral race may be closer than expected, here’s a glimpse of Susan Hall’s plan for London.
According to the official London Elects booklet posted to London constituencies, Hall’s ‘“plan written by Londoners” consists of:
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Make London’s streets safer: Recruit extra police for our streets, stop the closing of London’s police stations, bring back borough-led policing.
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Cut the cost of travelling around London: Scrap Ulez expansion on day one, support local councils to remove unwanted low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), no driving charge for every mile you drive.
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Build more affordable family homes: Prioritise building more affordable family homes, stop the building of unwanted tower blocks in our suburbs, prioritise building on brownfield sites – not London’s remaining greenbelt.
Just to clarify, the London mayoral and assembly election votes were verified (the process to check that all ballots are accounted for and are in the correct ballot boxes) yesterday and then the votes are counted today.
According to London Elects, all votes are counted manually and counting started at 9am on Saturday 4 May.
The count is underway for the Mayor of London election. Votes are being counted across the 14 London Assembly constituencies. Once the counts have finished, we will collate the result and declare the winner at City Hall. Follow progress here: https://t.co/dAE1tBRIPa #LondonVotes
— London Elects (@londonelects) May 4, 2024
Which ares of London had the highest turnout?
Counting for the London mayoral and assembly elections is under way.
Voter turnout for the mayoral election was 40.5%, down 1.5% from 2021. According to London Elects, which administers the mayoral and London assembly elections, Bexley and Bromley were the constituency with the highest voter turnout at 48%.
Here are the voter turnout percentages by constituency:
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Barnet and Camden: 39.59%
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Bexley and Bromley: 48.38%
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Brent and Harrow: 37.09%
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City and East (Barking and Dagenham, City of London, Newham, Tower Hamlets): 31.17%
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Croydon and Sutton: 42.27%
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Ealing and Hillingdon: 42.98%
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Enfield and Haringey: 41.38%
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Greenwich and Lewisham: 40.33%
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Havering and Redbridge: 42.94%
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Lambeth and Southwark: 39.13%
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Merton and Wandsworth: 45.99%
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North East (Hackney, Islington, Waltham Forest): 39.57%
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South West (Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames): 45.26%
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West Central (Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster): 34.98%
More from Keir Starmer speaking at a rally in Mansfield this morning.
The Labour leader said: “It now is upon us to deliver that change to each of those people that put their faith in us in the vote here in the East Midlands and we will do so with a positive case for the country.”
He listed Labour’s plans to “pick up the NHS”, make sure the streets are safe, build affordable homes, and provide secure jobs.
Starmer said: “That falls to us, because today is the day that we celebrate the beginning of the turning of the page, one of the last milestones now as we go into that general election.”
He added: “Let’s turn the page on decline and usher in national renewal with Labour.”
Keir Starmer says he’s still confident Sadiq Khan can win a third term as London mayor
Keir Starmer said he remains confident Sadiq Khan can win a third term as the Labour mayor of London, reports PA.
Speaking to reporters in Mansfield, the Labour leader said:
Sadiq Khan was absolutely the right candidate. He has got two terms of delivery behind him and I am confident that he has got another term of delivery in front of him.
But look, if you look across the country, I am standing here in Mansfield in the East Midlands where we have won a significant victory in the mayoralty here, but that is the pattern across the country.
We have been winning in Blackpool in a byelection with a 26% swing, we have won in York and North Yorkshire, true blue Tory territory, and here in the East Midlands where there are very many constituencies that matter hugely in that general election.
All of this is done with a purpose. I want a Labour government to serve our country.
This is effectively the last stop on the journey to the general election and I am really pleased to be able to show we are making progress, we have earned the trust and confidence of voters and we are making progress towards that general election.”
For those in the comments expressing concern about Larry the cat in all of this local election chaos, rest assured that he* has been sharing updates on X. In particular, Larry shared this important message on Thursday:
As my friends in Wales and England vote in the local elections today, this marvellous picture from @imageplotter serves as an important reminder: politicians come and go – cats remain. pic.twitter.com/SrISUZ4O7j
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) May 2, 2024
*may not be actual Larry the cat tweeting.
Just in case you’re wondering what’s on the cards today, here is an explainer of the key mayoral and local election results still to come: