Boris Johnson has promised some big reforms. Now he will have to build the apparatus that can deliver them
When news broke on Friday afternoon that Ben Houchen had been reelected as the Tees Valley mayor with an eye-watering 73% of the vote, the Tory party was in shock. Downing Street aides turned to celebratory drinks, Boris Johnson called Houchen to discuss the size of his majority and ministers started to predict another 10 years of Tory rule.
When the mayoralty first came up, in 2017, the assumption was that Labour would win it; now it’s one of the safest Tory positions in the country. It fits into a pattern emerging from this week’s local elections of the Conservatives not just holding on to support in areas they took from Labour in the 2019 election, but building on it.
