Andy Street could ‘cling on’ in West Midlands Mayoral race despite Tory unpopularity

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street (40%) is two points ahead of his Labour rival Richard Parker (38%), with the incumbent mayor looking like he could “cling on” just two weeks from polling day, despite the huge unpopularity of the Conservative party nationally.

New research from polling firm Savanta suggests that even with Labour (50%) having a 25-point lead over the Conservatives (25%) across the West Midlands, it might not be enough for Keir Starmer’s party to win the West Midlands Mayoralty for the first time.

Savanta’s polling of 1,018 people in the West Midlands combined authority area suggests Street’s potential success will likely be “in spite of, not because of, Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party brand”, with:

• Street having higher public net favourability (+21) in the West Midlands than Richard Parker (+13), Keir Starmer (+1) and Rishi Sunak (-24)
• Nearly six in ten (56%) of Street voters saying they prefer him to the Conservative Party; only 12% say the same for Richard Parker and the Labour Party
• 43% say they’re satisfied with Street’s performance as Mayor, with just 17% saying they are dissatisfied

Reform UK’s Elaine Williams is in a distant third place, on 7% of the vote – an underperformance for Reform’s national and West Midlands westminster polling. Sunny Virk from Liberal Democrats is on 6% vote share, with Siobhan Harper-Nunes of the Green on 5% vote share and Independent candidate Akhmed Yakoob on 5%.

Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said, “Despite all of the problems the Conservatives face nationally, Andy Street could well just cling on as Mayor of the West Midlands. Our research suggests he is narrowly beating his Labour rival Richard Parker, with Reform UK’s Elaine Williams in a very distant and potentially disappointing third.

If Street does manage to get re-elected for the third time, let’s make no mistake about it, it will be as a consequence of his personal popularity in the West Midlands – and in spite of, not because of, Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party brand.