Boost for Rishi Sunak as Conservatives may lose far fewer seats than had been ... trends now
The Conservatives could lose far fewer seats in today’s local elections than had been feared, according to pollsters.
It had been predicted that they could haemorrhage around 1,000, but amid growing signs of a late Tory surge, that figure could be as little as 338.
The projections, if accurate, are a blow to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s hopes of inflicting a Tory ‘bloodbath’ and come after his latest flip-flopping over tuition fees and taxes. Losing hundreds of council seats would still be uncomfortable for the Conservatives. But they are expected to make gains in some areas and losing 338 seats would be well below previous predictions. They lost 1,330 the last time the same councils were fought over in 2019.
It points to a major turn-around in the party’s ratings under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Those ratings after Liz Truss’s disastrous premiership would have meant the loss of up to 2,000 seats.
At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, a buoyant Mr Sunak said voters had a clear choice. He added: ‘When they go to that ballot box, they can see a party that stands for higher council tax, higher crime and a litany of broken promises.
Pictured: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (file photo). It had been predicted that the Conservatives could haemorrhage around 1,000, but amid growing signs of a late Tory surge, that figure could be as little as 338
‘Meanwhile, we’re getting on with delivering what we say with lower council tax, lower crime and fewer potholes. The choice is clear – vote Conservative.’
Later on, the PM appeared to play down the Tories’ chances. During a visit in Buckinghamshire, he said: ‘We’ve always said these are going to be a tough set of elections.’ The projections by respected forecaster Electoral Calculus for the Daily Mail and based on the latest polling, found that Labour will gain 395 councillors. This figure would be likely to disappoint the party.
It would also leave the Conservatives with more seats than Labour out of the 8,057 being contested – 2,963 versus Labour’s 2,474.
Labour is projected to take control of nine more councils, only two of which are currently fully Conservative
