Andy Street LOSES West Mids mayor battle in body blow for Rishi Sunak

There were cheers and whoops as the declaration came that the Tory incumbent had been defeated by Labour rival Richard Parker after an extraordinary struggle that saw a series of recounts. Following hours of wrangling, Mr Street was finally edged out by 1,508 votes - from a three-million strong electorate - with his opponent posting pictures of his celebrations. In his concession speech, Mr Street said: 'It has been my honour to lead you for the last seven years, I'm sorry we couldn't make it that triple or hat trick, but mark my words you will be back.' The failure of the former John Lewis boss to secure a third term is a huge setback for the PM, and leaves him with almost nothing to cling to from a nightmare set of local elections.