‘Work to do’ after local election losses – Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak has rebuffed suggestions to change direction following lackluster local election outcomes, asserting his ability to engage with voters before a general election.
Addressing the significant Tory losses unveiled for the first time, the prime minister labeled the defeat of 470 councilors as “deeply disappointing.”
Critics within the Tory ranks have urged Mr. Sunak to steer the party towards a more right-wing stance. However, in an interview with The Times newspaper, Sunak expressed his resolve to demonstrate effective governance to the public.
The Conservative Party is grappling with setbacks following a series of defeats in local elections. With the final tallies announced on Sunday, the Tories relinquished control of 10 councils, over 470 council seats, and notably suffered the loss of West Midlands mayor Andy Street.
Furthermore, the party ceded 10 Police and Crime Commissioner positions to Labour, potentially undercutting their emphasis on law and order for the next general election campaign.
For the first time, Sunak seemed to acknowledge the possibility of his party losing its parliamentary majority, conceding that the local election outcomes indicate a potential hung parliament with Labour as the largest party.
His remarks echo the analysis of leading psephologist Professor Michael Thrasher for Sky News, projecting 294 seats for Labour in a general election. This projection, although disputed by some polling experts, utilized the local election results to estimate nationwide vote shares.
Sunak emphasized the peril of a scenario where Keir Starmer is propped up in Downing Street by the SNP, Liberal Democrats, and the Greens, asserting the need for decisive action over political bargaining.
He underscored the Conservative Party’s commitment to addressing the public’s priorities, acknowledging the challenges of recent years and expressing determination to unify the party and demonstrate effective governance.
Labour has denied it is planning alliances with other parties to form a government at the next general election, expected in the second half of this year.
Speaking on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Labour’s election co-ordination Pat McFadden said there was now a “sense of belief” that his party could win.
He hailed the “tremendous” election results for the party, especially winning the West Midlands mayoral race which was “beyond our expectations”.
“When people look at the Labour Party now, they can see a changed Labour Party compared to a few years ago,” Mr McFadden said.
“A Labour Party that is passing the essential tests of trust that the voters look for.”
Speaking on Sunday, ex-home secretary Suella Braverman said Mr. Sunak’s plan was “not working”.
“There is no disguising the fact these have been terrible election results for the Conservatives,” Ms Braverman told the BBC.
Mr. Sunak must “change course” towards more right-wing policies to win back Tory voters who are “on strike”, she added.
Although a frequent critic of the prime minister, Ms Braverman did not call for Mr Sunak’s replacement, arguing it would be “impossible” to change leaders so close to a general election.
Ms. Braverman is among several conservative voices who have come out to advocate for a rightward policy shift in light of the bleak local election results.
Miriam Cates, co-chair of the New Conservatives group mostly made up of “red wall” MPs, from the party’s 2019 intake, said her party must offer “patriotism and national security” to avoid falling into the “abyss”.
Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Cates called on Mr Sunak to ignore policies that “serve an international elite” and instead focus on drastically reducing immigration and reforming planning laws to boost house-building.
Former lead Brexit negotiator Lord David Frost said he believed it was “too late” to save the Conservative Party from “electoral defeat at the next general election”.
To save the party Mr Sunak must produce “more tax cuts, more spending cuts” and a “serious assault on the burden of net zero”, Lord Frost argued.
Damian Green, chair of the influential One Nation Group of Conservative MPs, said “Suggesting that what we need to do is to move to the right is irrational in the face of the electorate”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, the former first secretary said: “I would just observe the seats that we have lost in the past few days – we lost to parties to the left of us.”
The Chair of the Conservative Party, Richard Holden, told the same program that voters wanted the party to put forward a “clear vision for the country”.
“I want to see lower taxes but they are going to be delivered sustainably,” he said.
“I think it is self-indulgent for us to be talking to ourselves and talking about ourselves at the moment. Whenever I go to the doorstep, I would agree with some others who have spoken, what people want to see, is [the Conservative Party] putting forward a clear vision for the country.
I think we have seen a lot of that from the prime minister in the last few days: further welfare reform, building upon those universal credit changes which have fundamentally changed the way that welfare works in this county and encouraging people into work – that has happened in the last 14 years, but we have to go further.”
