After Britain's opposition Labour party trounced the ruling Conservatives in a host of mayoral races and local elections, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urges Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call a general election "as soon as possible". Speaking after Labour's Richard Parker unexpectedly beat Conservative incumbent Andy Street to become Mayor of the West Midlands in another hammer blow for Sunak, Starmer says the election results show "the country wants change".
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00:00 We started in Blackpool with a 26% swing and we've ended in the West Midlands with our
00:09 new mayor Richard Parker as the West Midlands Mayor.
00:15 The Tories felt that they were entitled to victory here, that they could use Andy Street
00:20 as some sort of crutch for Rishi Sunak's weak leadership and that they didn't have to be
00:26 in touch with the priorities of the people.
00:28 We ran a completely different campaign.
00:30 We were grounded in the priorities of the people that we now represent in the West Midlands.
00:37 So many people have had enough of 14 years of decline that has cost them and their families
00:43 and their communities.
00:44 They're fed up with the chaos and the division and the non-delivery and they want to turn
00:50 the page, turn their back on that decline and usher in national renewal with Labour.
00:56 So the message out of these elections, the last elections now, the last stop before we
01:02 go into that general election is the country wants change.
01:06 I hope the Prime Minister is listening and gives the opportunity to the country to vote
01:11 as a whole in a general election as soon as possible.
01:15 Thank you.
01:15 [Applause]
01:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]