'It is a mess, definitely a mess', says Conservative Mayor Andy Street of political chaos
Andy Street joins Steve Clamp and Hannah Bechelet in the studio on the day Liz Truss resigns as PM
The Conservative West Midlands Mayor says his party has 'one last chance' to choose a leader and get behind them.
Speaking to ITV News Central on Thursday, following the PM's resignation, Andy Street admitted the current situation was 'a mess'.
"It is a mess, definitely a mess, and I'm not going to excuse that in any way",
"And I know people out there watching are thinking 'how on earth have we got to this?'
"We want people who can show leadership and actually deal with the issues that we face."
He adds: "My message to my party in London is for goodness sake, you've got one last chance to choose a leader who can unite everybody and demonstrate that we can deliver."
"People watching this aren't interested in political games in London, they want the Governing party to come together, unite and show leadership"
In recent weeks Street has publicly supported Truss.
When asked by ITV News Central earlier this month what he thought of the suggestion that the PM would resign by Christmas, the Mayor told us it was "nonsense".
"We have got to get behind Liz Truss" he said, just over two weeks before the PM quit.
Earlier this month Andy Street told ITV News Central "we have got to get behind Liz Truss"
But two weeks can be a long time in politics and Mr Street was quick to defend his trust in Truss, saying: "One of the reasons this has happened is that the party has not united. The election was held fairly, she won fairly... Some people thought they knew better than the result"
"People watching this aren't interested in political games in London, they want the Governing party to come together, unite and show leadership".
Who would be the best Prime Minister for the West Midlands?
"I dearly wish it would be Jeremy Hunt", says Mr Street.
"In the first campaign three years ago I backed him and then when we had the campaign in the early part of the summer I backed him. I still believe he's the best person."
"I know he's said no, but that's who I would like", he adds.
When asked if he would support Rishi Sunak in the role, despite him supporting Truss in the previous leadership election, the Mayor said he will back whoever gets the role.
"This is a decision for our MPs to make quickly and then we all have to come together", he said.
On Boris Johnson, Mr Street said he was an "outstanding leader" which is what led to his win in 2019, but "the way in which he led, led to his downfall".
"My personal view is that you can't revisit that", he added.
He adds: "Remember what my job is, my job is to make sure that whoever is Prime Minister does the best thing for the West Midlands, so whoever it is I will carry out that role."