West Midlands Mayor election: One side predicts defeat after reports of neck-and-neck race

Surveys have anticipated a tight competition among Mr. Street and Richard Parker from the Labour party.

Although the counting of votes won't happen until Saturday, it's anticipated that the Conservative nominee will secure their third consecutive term, having triumphed in both 2017 and 2021.

There are currently six individuals who have nominated themselves for the position of West Midlands Mayor. However, the one who could potentially influence the outcome of the election is an independent candidate known as Akhmed Yakoob.

In an interview with BBC news, Taj Ali, who is a co-editor of Tribune, shared that the Labour party was not performing well in regions where there was a significant Muslim population. This was primarily because people were moving away from the party following Keir Starmer's comments made in October last year. Starmer had indicated that Israel was right in its decision to restrict the flow of water and electricity to Palestinians during the conflict with Hamas.

In his statement, he expressed his belief that the West Midlands Mayoral election may not go in Labour's favor due to the presence of independent candidate Akhmed Yakoob. Yakoob has urged voters to not support the Labour party as they are supportive of Israel's actions in Gaza. While Yakoob's chances of winning the election are slim and he is expected to receive less than three percent of the vote, his stance may give the Conservatives an advantage and allow them to maintain their position.

John McTernan, an advisor to the Labour party, expressed the same feeling to the BBC. He mentioned that the Labour party passed a vote in Parliament for a ceasefire and also forced the Government to vote for a ceasefire at the United Nations Security Council. He also pointed out that the Labour party has changed its position on Gaza, but it seems that their voters haven't heard this yet. McTernan added that if this issue continues, it may have an impact on the West Midlands (Mayoral) election for the Labour party.

It is important for individuals to be aware that we are striving towards achieving peace in Gaza.

Another close mayoral election occurred in the Tees Valley area, where the current Conservative mayor, Ben Houchen, won with a majority of 18,000 votes. He received a total of 81,930 votes, while his Labour opponent, Chris McEwan, received 63,141 votes.

Similar to Mr Street, Mr Houchen was also running for a third consecutive term. However, he managed to secure a victory, although his lead was significantly reduced from the 76,000 votes he won in 2021. In the recent election, he obtained 121,964 votes while the Labour received 45,641 votes.

Professor John Curtice, an authority on elections, expressed that the mayoral election revolved around "strong personalities". He noted that both Mr. Street and Mr. Houchen possess these characteristics.

He also depicted that mayoral polls are the "most undependable" in forecasting the implications for a nationwide vote.

We won't know the results until Saturday afternoon when the official count takes place in Coventry. The Coventry count will also include the vote for the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.