Conservative candidate Andy Street has been re-elected for a second term as West Midland Mayor with an increased majority.

Votes were cast on Thursday as part of the local elections across the region, and were counted today at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.

Mr Street, a former boss of John Lewis, will continue to serve as Mayor for another four years and as chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority and its cabinet of the seven metropolitan West Midlands council leaders.

During the first round Labour candidate, Liam Byrne MP, took an initial lead when figures were returned for Birmingham with 102,276 votes against Mr Street's 84,817.

Mr Byrne's lead increased when the results came in from Sandwell, where Labour polled 33,047 votes versus the Conservative's 27,876.

But, when all seven regions that make up the Combined Authority submitted their totals, the shift switched from red to blue, with the Tories polling 299,318 to Labour's 244,009.

The contest went to the second round after Mr Street failed to secure the 50% he needed to win outright. When totals were revealed, it saw Street gain a further 15,351 and Byrne adding 23,617 votes. This gave a final total of 267,626 for Liam Byrne and 314,669 for Andy Street; 54% overall - a 12% increase on the inaugural election in 2017.

Green Party candidate Steve Caudwell came third, beating the Liberal Democrats’ Jenny Wilkinson into fourth. Reform UK’s Pete Durnell came fifth.

The election saw votes cast in Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. A total of 626,180 people voted – a turnout of 31.23 per cent.

Conceding defeat, second place Byrne made a speech where he congratulated the newly elected Mayor and paid tribute to Street’s difficult year after the loss of his mum to Covid-19, saying how proud she would be.

He said: "Thank you to Liam, Jenny, Steve and Pete for a fight well fought in the best tradition of British democracy and, above all, thank you to everyone who has put their faith in me.

"There is no question that the West Midlands faces serious challenges after the impact of Covid and we have no time to waste in addressing the deep seated issues exposed by the pandemic. But equally, there is no question that the West Midlands will bounce back strongly.

"Together, we can show Britain that something very special is being made in the West Midlands. Thank you for trusting me to lead our endeavour." 

Mr. Street vowed to continue his strategy of investing in the region’s public transport, with the extension of the West Midlands Metro among his most notable accomplishments in his first term in office.

The Metro is due to be extended to Brierley Hill by 2023, while old Black Country railway lines are due to re-open to passengers with light rail services due to start in Dudley as early as next year.

Mr. Street will now serve until at least 2025 and will have been in office for eight years the next time voters go to the polls.