The Conservatives deployed some much-needed expectation management in the race for the mayoralty of Tees Valley. But it is unclear how the result will impact the rest of the country.
In the days running up to the elections, Number 10 was verging on the unsubtle. Senior Downing Street figures were conceding that should Ben Houchen lose the mayoralty of the Tees Valley Combined Authority to Labour, there would be a challenge to Rishi Sunak. At that point they would be unable to stem the tide of letters sufficient to trigger a vote of no confidence. In turn, this might have triggered an unwanted and catastrophic early election.
And no matter the brand of politics of the two men - big spending versus fiscal conservatism - is as different as you can get. For the moment, this will be glossed over. Sky News projection: Labour on course to be largest party - but short of overall majority Houchen is an impressive public performer, however much doubt there is about the wisdom over the investment decisions around Teesworks and the sense in the partnerships struck to make some of the projects go ahead.
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