Who had served two terms in the role. The labour mayor of london, sadiq khan, was re elected for a historic third term. Overall, the conservatives lost hundreds of councillors in the local elections in england. This morning, the transport secretary mark harper said while the results were disappointing. The General Election was still � all to play for�. Lets speak to our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan, who is in birmingham. That is where the West Midlands mayoral result was announced yesterday. She has been there getting reaction. It was already a difficult few days after thursdays local elections for the Conservative Party but i think many pin hopes on the West Midlands mayoral contest that declared in birmingham late last night, about nine oclock. That is because it was a close race, but the conservatives hoped their incumbent mayor andy street would hold on for another term but in the end, it was the Labour Candidate who is now the mayor, Richard Parker, who won by a squeak, by about 1500 votes. Some of the regions ended up going to a recount, in coventry they recounted because it was so close. I think that capped off a dire weekend of results for the conservatives. We had a statement from the prime minister. He said the results are disappointing and said it was disappointing and said it was disappointing to lose dedicated conservative councillors as well as andy street in the West Midlands. Said they would work as hard as ever. He said all of the results have redoubled his resolve to make progress on his plan. But it is clear there are many in the Conservative Party who do not think that plan is working and as we head to a General Election likely later this year, something needs to change. Suella braverman spoke to my colleague earlier. She was pretty damning. At this rate, we will be lucky to have any conservative mps at the next election. And we need to fight and im not willing to give up. It does me no favours to come here and say it how it is and to set out the difficult situation that we are in, but i owe that honesty to my colleagues, i owe that to you and the british people who are crying out for a Conservative Party to vote for. I think the thing that tipped a bad weekend into an awful one for the conservatives was the result in birmingham. Iwas conservatives was the result in birmingham. I was at the count yesterday as the results came in. Throughout the day, speaking to labour and conservative sources, they said it would be on a knife edge, and that it was going to be incredibly close. 0ne edge, and that it was going to be incredibly close. One thing interesting throughout the campaign, the incumbent former mayor andy street almost distance himself from the national party. He was already an anti politician, the former head ofjohn lewis. He was well known locally. He hoped to ride on his personal popularity and brand, brand andy as he called it, to try to win again. But in the end of the Labour Machine rolled over him, even though it was a close margin. I am in the bbc in the West Midlands and saw the new mayor Richard Parker who said he had signed the documents, already officially the mayor and looking forward to getting on with the job. Shortly after the results were announced in birmingham, i got the first interview with him. We can listen to a little bit about his plans. We had a Policy Platform and a set of priorities that address the needs of working people in the West Midlands. We had a Policy Platform and a set of priorities that address the needs of working people in the West Midlands. Our focus was how can we help those communities that have been suffering so badly from a cost of living crisis, from a lack of access to housing . And too many people cant get to high streets, to work, to college, because of the failures in the public transport system. So we had a Policy Programme that i think reached out and meant more to more people in this region than the conservative candidate. So i think weve got a great platform for victory in the next General Election. The results over the last few days have demonstrated that. But there is some work to do with our Muslim Community and some of our inner city communities. And i think we need to work on that and if we do that, i think we can deliver the General Election result we want and also start to build the relationship with and the trust back with our very important Muslim Community. What he told me in that interview was he conceded the labour party needed to do more to try to engage with voters who felt disillusioned with voters who felt disillusioned with the partys policy on gaza at the start of the war there were a number of people, even frontbenchers who quit the frontbenchers over sir keir starmer� s refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire. The Labour Policy has since changed. I spoke to jess phillips. She said she believed the party had suffered in terms of losing some core voters, particularly muslim communities, because of the policy on gaza. In the mayoral race you had an independent candidate who campaigned solely on the platform of gaza. Who won in the birmingham constituency area, there are seven districts. In birmingham, that candidate won and astounding amount for a candidate relatively unknown. Some Likejess Phillips think labour could have won by a greater margin had they engaged voters on that issue and i put that to Richard Parker in the interview and he said he conceded the party needed to do work when it comes to that. Of course, that means with andy street no longer mayor, the end of someone who was a well known and quite popular mayor, who served the area for two terms. I asked andy street how he felt about the loss yesterday. Particularly when it came to the party because during the campaign he had distanced himself from the national party. You can see the conservative name on most of the literature, even the colours were not conservative blue on his leaflets. In the end, he was conciliatory and conceded in this interview it was down to him. He had to take the hit for what went wrong. We did not persuade enough people to be confident in what i had done and, of course, have confidence, as well, in what the plan was for the future. And i cant look for anything more complicated than that. Ultimately, we didnt persuade enough people to go out and put their cross in the right box on thursday, and im not going to be slopey shouldered about it in any way. Its my campaign. I did it my way and, ultimately, it didnt quite cut through. No sloping shoulders from andy street. I think there was a point yesterday when it was neck and neck and we wondered who would be visiting once the result came in, rishi sunak, of course the conservatives had a win in tees valley. Again some were thinking that the model in tees valley could be replicated here. A locally known mayor, someone who almost distanced himself from the party and is seen as their own person and could andy street win. It did not happen here. That meant a huge celebration for the labour party. It was around nine oclock when we saw a lot of members of the labour party take to the floor in front of the stage. You could see some hugging, some visibly moved. Some tears, as well. Even though the party through a lot at this mayoral race and keir starmer had said they thought they could do it, nobody really knew who would win. It was that close. Suddenly we found out through the course of the evening that keir starmer had turned up evening that keir starmer had turned up in birmingham. He came in person to congratulate the new mayor Richard Parker and also set out his partys plan for the months ahead. The tories felt that they were entitled to victory here, that they could use andy street as some sort of crutch for rishi sunaks weak leadership, that they did not have to be in touch with the priorities of the people. We ran a completely different campaign. We were grounded in the priorities of the people that we now represent in the West Midlands. We showed that our values are their values and we humbly ask them to put their trust and confidence in a changed labour party, and they did. Ajubilant a jubilant keir starmer following a weekend of good local election and mayoral results. We can now discuss this. Joining me isjoe twyman. What is your reaction to events overnight in the West Midlands . In many ways it was like the culmination of a three day test match, a one sided cricket match. 0ne match, a one sided cricket match. One side dominant throughout the three day period. 0ccasionally, another side have flourishes that meant it got people excited and made it look perhaps it would not be as bad as some expected. But in the end, it probably was. The results were very poor for the conservatives, if not quite as poor as the most negative naysayers might have expected. Similarly, for labour, the results were good, a dominant performance, but perhaps not quite as good as their most positive supporters might have hoped for. A clear picture that really was backing up what we have seen in the National Polling notjust in the last few months but last few years. You used to the cricket analogy. I will stay with it. There was talk in recent weeks that if the conservatives did not get a good showing in the elections, they might have to change their captain. Suella braverman this morning ruled that out saying she would not call for rishi sunak to move on and he will likely be the leader they go into the General Election with. When you look at polling, is there any polling on different leaders and would a new leader in the party change their fortunes would a new leader in the party Change Theirfortunes In would a new leader in the party change their fortunes in terms of the polls . Change their fortunes in terms of the olls . ,. ,. ,. , the polls . There is bad polling out there and here the polls . There is bad polling out there and here is the polls . There is bad polling out there and here is a the polls . There is bad polling out there and here is a surprise the polls . There is bad polling out there and here is a surprise that l there and here is a surprise that says if someone were leading the conservatives that gave you everything you want would you want to support them . In that hypothetical situation people say they would support a new leader. But is there evidence in the polling a new leader would make a difference . There is not. Not at this stage. There is not. Not at this stage. There is no evidence that would be the case and also, i do not think there is anyone coming forward who would particularly want to be the leader at this stage. There are people i am sure would accept it if forced upon them. But if you have ambitions to lead the Conservative Party longer term, ambitions to lead the Conservative Party longerterm, i ambitions to lead the Conservative Party longer term, i do not think you want to take over now, given how close we are to an election. And the leaders available, they pretty much would not be able to do anything different from rishi sunak apart from statements on things. They would be unlikely to cut through. You might expect a three, four, five point bounce in the polls but for that to last is questionable and evenif that to last is questionable and even if it did it is nowhere near enough to change the overall result in the General Election as things stand. R in the General Election as things stand. ,. , stand. Let me ask about something i mentioned earlier. Stand. Let me ask about something i mentioned earlier. Jess stand. Let me ask about something i mentioned earlier. Jess phillips, mentioned earlier. Jess phillips, labour mp, telling me that she felt her party lost key voters in the recent elections because of keir starmer� s initial policy and the way he handled the Labour Response to the conflict in gaza. Do you agree with that sentiment . Even Richard Parker said the party needed to work to attract voters they may have lost over this. To attract voters they may have lost overthis. Do to attract voters they may have lost over this. Do you agree it could be a factor perhaps when it comes to marginal seats when we come to the General Election . That marginal seats when we come to the General Election . General election . That is where thins aet General Election . That is where things get complicated. General election . That is where things get complicated. Do General Election . That is where things get complicated. Do i General Election . That is where i things get complicated. Do i think there is evidence it had an impact in local elections . Yes, i do. Do i think it will impact the General Election, things get more complicated. The first point is the birmingham Muslim Community is a varied group, british Muslim Community do not all think and behave the same way. But it is worth keeping in mind areas where there are large proportions of british muslims. They tend to vote labour strongly. Jess phillips� constituency has a large Muslim Population and she won with twice as many votes as the next person in the contest. If a proportion of people abandoned labour at the General Election whenever that may be, it is likely the constituency would stay with labour. The margin of their victory might be reduced but the number of seats in which that had an impact would be small. Also there is the fact people vote differently at local elections than General Elections. People might be more willing to vote in protest at what they see as the situation in gaza as it stands. But come the General Election, they might think about National Issues and the incoming government instead. It is worth pointing out that there is not a General Election now and might not be until november, perhaps january. By be until november, perhaps january. By then the situation in gaza and with british parties of all colours responding to that situation may have changed. Admittedly, it might� ve got worse but it might get better. Eitherway might� ve got worse but it might get better. Either way it is likely to have changed. The Party Position at the moment may not affect where things are then. Worth keeping in mind when we have polled the british people on attitudes to the situation in gaza, what we see Time And Again is sympathy for the Palestinian People and sympathy for the israeli people. It is not an either or contest. The majority of people, whatever their background, want an end to violence, release of hostages, a peaceful settlement and long term peace in the region. I do not think the major parties in this country would thank you. I not think the major parties in this country would thank you. Not think the major parties in this country would thank you. I think the overall takeaway country would thank you. I think the overall takeaway is country would thank you. I think the overall takeaway is that country would thank you. I think the overall takeaway is that it country would thank you. I think the overall takeaway is that it was country would thank you. I think the overall takeaway is that it was a overall takeaway is that it was a dire weekend for the Conservative Party and particularly what happened last night in the West Midlands did cement that weekend and highlight successes the labour party had in the recent wave of elections. But anything can change when it comes to the General Election. We have more on the bbc news website. You heard them talking about the middle east conflict. Efforts to secure a ceasefire in gaza and the release of israeli hostages are due to resume in cairo later today, after lengthy negotiations on saturday failed to yield any breakthrough. The bbc Gaza Correspondent says the one outstanding issue remains the duration of any truce, with hamas saying it would not accept any deal that did not explicitly include an end to the war in gaza. However, in an interview with the bbc, an israeli minister said that even is all the hostages were released they would not end the war and gaza and the Operation On Rafah would still go ahead. We� ll play you that in a minute, but first, these images are of rafah, where the israeli air strikes continue. Gaza� s Heatlh Authority says more than 30 people have been killed there in the last 2a hours alone. Israel, renewed calls for a hostage deal. Hundreds gathering in the city. And others gathering to urge the Israeli G