LABOUR capped off the local elections on Saturday evening (4) with a narrow win for Richard Parker in the West Midlands mayoral race, defeating Conservative incumbent Andy Street by just 1,508 votes.
Earlier this evening, Labour's Sadiq Khan was re-elected as London mayor for the third consecutive term, after he beat Susan Hall of the Tories by 200,000 votes.
Labour's latest wins in local elections to councils and mayoralties on Thursday put pressure on prime minister Rishi Sunak, ahead of general elections later this year.
Opinion polls predicted that Labour will win the next national election, propelling Sir Keir Starmer to power and ending 14 years of Conservative government in Britain.
Sunak has said he intends to call a vote in the second half of the year.
Street's 37.5 per cent of the vote was eclipsed by 37.8 per cent for Parker, a razor-thin margin translating to 1,508 votes.
Street, who has served as mayor since 2017, ran a campaign emphasising his personal record on investment while downplaying his Conservative affiliation. He publicly disputed Sunak's decision to scrap the high-speed HS2 rail link from Birmingham to Manchester last year.
But he told Eastern Eye in an interview last week that despite their differences, the Tories should unite behind Sunak.
Parker had sought to link him to the unpopular national government. "I believe a Labour mayor working with a Labour government will help get Britain's future back," Parker said in a speech following the result.
Sir Keir said the result was beyond Labour's expectations. "People across the country have had enough of Conservative chaos and decline and voted for change with Labour," he said in a statement.
Sunak had been counting on getting an electoral boost from recent announcements on defence spending and the progress of his divisive plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Khan's victory in London, his third in a row, came despite some public anger over knife crime and the Ultra Low Emission Zone that charges drivers of older, more polluting vehicles a daily fee.
"It's been a difficult few months, we faced a campaign of non-stop negativity," Khan said in a speech after the results showed he had won 43.8 per cent of the vote against 33 per cent for the Conservatives' candidate, Susan Hall.
"For the last eight years, London has been swimming against the tide of a Tory (Conservative) government and now with a Labour Party that's ready to govern again under Keir Starmer, it's time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice."
Khan, 53, became the first Muslim mayor of the British capital in 2016.
In one bright spot for Conservatives, Ben Houchen won re-election as mayor of Tees Valley in northern England on Friday.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)