The Conservative Party’s candidates are being rejected by voters en masse in this year’s local elections. They were heavily defeated by Labour in the Blackpool by-election and are on course to lose around half (500) of the councillors up for election. But now No 10 has something to celebrate: Ben Houchen has been re-elected in the Tees Valley mayoral election, with 53.6 per cent of the vote, compared to nearly 73 per cent in 2021, against Labour’s 41.3 per cent.
Houchen, who was ennobled by Boris Johnson and has been closely associated with his levelling-up agenda, is a prominent voice within the party. Despite controversies surrounding a development site in his patch, he has built a personal reputation that elevates him above the Tories’ toxic brand.
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