Tees Valley’s mayor may be a straw for Tories to clutch, but even if he wins he can’t save Sunak

Local elections preview: Ben Houchen may buck the trend, but the outlook is still bad for the Conservatives come the general election, writes John Rentoul

If Ben Houchen holds on as mayor of Tees Valley, that does not mean very much for the Tories nationally (Getty)

Directly elected mayors are a useful innovation for the Conservatives. They enable them to win elections in places where they have no chance of gaining control of local councils – and if Ben Houchen, the Tory mayor of Tees Valley, wins re-election on Thursday, his success might distract from Tory failure elsewhere.

The Tories are expected to lose hundreds of seats on councils across England and Wales, but inevitably attention is going to be focused on a few high-profile mayoral contests – at least one of which is likely to give Rishi Sunak a straw to clutch.

Sadiq Khan’s bid for an unprecedented third term as mayor of London is the biggest contest this week. The result is hardly in doubt, but his margin of victory will be subjected to chin-stroking analysis about how far short of Labour expectations he has fallen.