The Tees Valley mayor is a strong ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who recorded a video endorsement. His victory back in 2017 and re-election in 2021 was seen as emblematic of the Tories’ ability to win seats in former Labour strongholds dubbed the “Red Wall.” Speaking Friday, Houchen said he was “absolutely humbled” by the result.

The re-elected mayor ran a personal campaign that pushed the Conservative brand to the background.

But Houchen denied distancing himself from Sunak, telling Sky News: “We absolutely don’t shy away from that at all, and Rishi’s been up during the campaign and we have always said Rishi’s been a great friend to the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”

Sunak will ‘go on’

The results come amid poor local election results for Sunak’s party across England.

By early afternoon Friday, the Tories had shed more than 100 councilors and lost key former strongholds including Rushmoor and Redditch. Labour gained dozens of councilors and retook councils including Thurrock and Hartlepool, the latter of which is located in the Tees Valley.

With Conservative rebels already considering a move against Sunak, all eyes will now be on the Conservative Mayor Andy Street, who is fighting to hold off a Labour challenge in the West Midlands. That result will be declared Saturday afternoon.