Star comment: Power lies with man on street

Theresa May was coy when asked about her hopes for General Election success in the region next month.

But make no mistake about it – the Conservatives are hoping to ride the wave of Andy Street's Mayoral victory to claim some major gains in the Midlands at the General Election.

Staffordshire turned a much deeper shade of blue after the county council elections last week.

And unless Labour can manage to halt the Conservatives' momentum that blue surge looks set to continue on June 8.

Mrs May has run a ruthless campaign, repeating simple messages and sticking the boot further and further into her opposition.

She has come under fire from some quarters for the 'robotic' nature of her campaigning.

However, with opinion polls continuing to show a massive Tory lead, why would she change tack now?

That's why it should come as no surprise Mrs May arrived in Wolverhampton the day after Mr Street's Mayoral success.

An easy publicity hit? Of course – but one which offered the PM another chance to reiterate the simple messages which are proving successful for her and her party.

The Tories are riding the crest of a wave in the region, buoyed by last year's Brexit win and Mr Street's knife-edge victory.

It begs the question what the Labour Party is doing to halt their progress?

Sion Simon's lacklustre Mayoral campaign allowed Mr Street's own to gain impetus, with the Labour MEP struggling to connect with voters.

And Labour's muddled Brexit strategy means they have left themselves betwixt and between – on the key issue which promises to dominate the electoral agenda.

That comes from the top, and in his concession speech after the Mayoral election, Mr Simon alluded to voters' disillusionment with the party leadership.

He said people on the doorstep had told him they did not feel the party was 'strong enough in our traditional Labour values'.

There is still an appetite for Labour politicians in the West Midlands, however.

Last year David Jamieson retained his role as Police and Crime Commissioner with a thumping majority – polling 306,578 compared to Tory Les Jones' 176,922.

With just one month to go until election day, Labour needs to do something to turn the Tory tide.

Otherwise, it will be a blue letter day across the Midlands on June 9.