Boost for Jeremy Corbyn as ally Steve Rotheram becomes mayor for Liverpool City Region

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been handed a much-needed boost as his former aide Steve Rotheram became the mayor for the Liverpool City Region on Friday 5 May.

The ex-MP for Liverpool Walton, who quit parliament in 2016 to run in the mayoral race, won with 171,000 votes beating Conservative candidate Tony Caldeira (58,805 votes) and Liberal Democrat hopeful Carl Cashman (19,751 votes).

"The vast majority of people in our area have also sent a very clear message to Theresa May," Rotheram said. "Prime minister, you may use Labour's language about a country that works for all, but how can it if you hit areas like ours with the hardest of cuts?

"You claim to be the party of working people and social justice. There's only one party for social justice and that's the Labour Party."

Rotheram's comments came as results pour in from council elections across England, Wales and Scotland as well as the other metro mayor votes held on 4 May.

In England, the Conservatives have currently recorded net gains of +160, while Labour are on -67.

Corbyn is expected to visit Liverpool later on Friday to celebrate alongside Rotheram, his former parliamentary aide. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who has been doing the media rounds, apologised to Labour councillors who lost their seats and blamed "unbalanced" media reporting.

"The unbalanced media reporting of Jeremy Corbyn for the last two years virtually has given a distorted view of what he is the more people see of him the more opportunities they get to think 'this is the leader I want'," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The results come just five weeks before the general elections on 8 June. The latest opinion poll from YouGov, of more than 2,000 people between 2 and 3 May, gave the Tories a 19 point lead over Labour (48% versus 29%).