LABOUR notched up a string of successes in mayoral elections whose results came in over the weekend.

But it had to pledge to work to rebuild trust in Muslim communities following a sharp decline in its vote in areas with high Muslim populations — with strong votes for independents who championed the Palestinian cause as Israel’s brutal war on Gaza continues.

Labour scraped a win in the West Midlands, ousting Tory incumbent Andy Street by just 1,508 votes of over 600,000 cast — while a pro-Palestine independent, Akhmed Yakoob, came third with over 69,000.