Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Andy Street win indicates Labour voters' shift to Tories

ANDY Street's mayoral victory in the West Midlands may give the best indication yet of just how far prime minister Theresa May's Conservatives are poaching traditional Labour supporters ahead of the June 8 general election.

Street quit his $1-million-a-year job as managing director of department store chain John Lewis to stand for the top political job in the West Midlands, which has a population of about three million.


His victory this month was a surprise because the seven cities and boroughs, including Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton, that make up the West Midlands Combined Authority are a traditional stronghold of the Labour Party.

"We needed a vast swing," Street, 53, said in rented office space as he fielded calls on the transport chaos caused by the discovery of a 550 lb (250 kg) World War II bomb dropped by the Luftwaffe on the city over 70 years ago.

"We must have converted some people who'd previously voted Labour or stayed at home, to vote for me," said Street, who will earn £79,000 a year as mayor.

At the last national election in 2015 Labour won 21 of the 28 parliamentary seats in the area, while an election last year for a regional Police and Crime Commissioner saw the Labour candidate win with 63 per cent of the vote.

Street won by 3,766 votes out of 473,490 cast, after offering a moderate, inclusive, brand of Conservatism, based around economic success and social justice that echoes May's "economy that works for everyone" rhetoric.

His success echoes opinion poll surveys which suggest May's strategy to win over working-class voters and ethnic minority groups could hand her a big victory in the June 8 election.

"We were active in the most integrated areas, the least integrated areas, the less affluent, the most affluent," Street said.

In his victory speech, Street hailed the "rebirth of a new urban Conservative agenda", echoing Joseph Chamberlain, a 19th century businessman who made fortune producing screws before turning to politics as a radical mayor of Birmingham.

"His philosophy was very much about using business success in order to improve public services, and, to use his words not mine, 'improve the lot of the masses,'" Street said.

While election rhetoric may give only a vague insight into future plans, May has been clear that she views last year's referendum vote to leave the European Union as a "revolution" that exposed the failings of modern Britain.

Of his own campaign, Street said: "We went out of our way to demonstrate that the economic success had to be balanced by that much more inclusive society."

But local factors also played a role, he said, including his appeal as a business leader who went from the shop floor to the boardroom and oversaw one of the most successful periods in employee-owned John Lewis' history.

A "proud Brummie", Street attended a Birmingham grammar school and has chaired the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership since 2011.

As mayor he will have responsibility for investment in transport infrastructure, housing, job creation and skills. In addition to £8 billion of new central government funding, he expects money from further devolution deals and the creation of an investment fund.

He does not see Brexit as an impediment to further foreign investment in the region, pointing to the success of its automotive, life sciences and energy technology industries.

So is the mayoralty a stepping-stone to bigger political jobs? "This is why I left John Lewis, this is the job I wanted to do. I have always told everybody - concentrate on the current and the future will look after itself," Street said.

(Reuters)

More For You

F-35B jet

The UK has agreed to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport.

Indian Air Force

F-35B jet still stranded in Kerala, UK sends engineers for repair

UK AVIATION engineers are arriving in Thiruvananthapuram to carry out repairs on an F-35B Lightning jet belonging to the Royal Navy, which has remained grounded after an emergency landing 12 days ago.

The jet is part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the UK's Royal Navy. It made the emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14. The aircraft, valued at over USD 110 million, is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahmedabad air crash
Relatives carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in the Air India Flight 171 crash, during a funeral ceremony in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ahmedabad crash: Grief, denial and trauma haunt families

TWO weeks after the crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, families of victims are grappling with grief and trauma. Psychiatrists are now working closely with many who continue to oscillate between denial and despair.

The crash occurred on June 12, when the London-bound flight hit the BJ Medical College complex shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and 29 on the ground. Only one passenger survived.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

Prime minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at The British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference in London on June 26, 2025. (Photo by EDDIE MULHOLLAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

PRIME MINISTER Sir Keir Starmer has admitted he was wrong to warn that Britain could become an "island of strangers" due to high immigration, saying he "deeply" regrets the controversial phrase.

Speaking to The Observer, Sir Keir said he would not have used those words if he had known they would be seen as echoing the language of Enoch Powell's notorious 1968 "rivers of blood" speech.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less