Rishi Sunak has come in for harsh criticism in the wake of disastrous local election results, with one critic saying he is “staring down the barrel of a gun”.
Former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns said calls for Conservatives to return to the political centre are “rubbish”, and urged Sunak to “wake up and smell the coffee”.
As the final election results were returned on Sunday, they left Labour in control of 51 of the 107 English councils, while the Lib Dems control 12, the Conservatives six and independents one, with 37 under no overall control. The Tories also lost the the West Midlands mayoralty, prompting Conservative candidate Andy Street to warn the party not to drift to the right.
But Dame Andrea said that was the wrong move, telling the BBC: “I think (Prime Minister Rishi Sunak) is staring down the barrel of the gun isn’t he, as every Conservative is – we’ve got to wake up and smell the coffee, we’ve got to actually start delivering true Conservative values. I think he might listen a little bit.”
Senior Tory backbencher Suella Braverman hit out at the boss who sacked her, urging him to “change course” over the “disaster”, and saying: “At this rate, we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.”
But supporters staunchly backed the PM, with transport secretary Mark Harper insisting: “It’s all to play for”, and Liam Fox warning against any challenge to Rishi Sunak’s leadership of the Conservatives, saying it would rile already-frustrated Tory voters.
The Conservatives are currently polling lower than under Liz Truss, with the latest YouGov/Times voting intention poll, released on Thursday, found the Tories on 18%, down 2% since 24 April, and the election results confirming speculation by many that Labour is in for a victory in a general election later this year.
Check out how the major talking points of Sunday unfolded below.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER23 updates
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What we learned from local polls ahead of looming general election
What do the local election results mean for the UK? (Getty) Local elections are often seen as a litmus test for national polls, and this week’s polls are the last before a looming general election.
As Labour celebrated, Rishi Sunak was under fire for the bruising defeat which many see as a suggestion of what could happen later this year.
Here are five things we’ve learned from the local election results, summed up by the Associated Press.
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‘The best result in decades’ – Labour leader after Crawley victory
There was elation for Labour in Crawley as part of its local elections wins. (Getty) There was elation for Labour after they made five gains in the Crawley Borough Council elections.
Council leader Michael Jones said: “I’m absolutely elated. This is the best result in decades. This is probably the first time that we’ve made five gains in the history of the borough council.
“We’ll use this mandate to do even more good for the people of Crawley. It’s just amazing. Words almost fail me – which is very unusual.”
Read more here.
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We need to win back voters who left over Gaza, says Labour’s election chief
Gaza has been a key issue in the local elections, several leading figures have admitted. (Getty) Sir Keir Starmer needs to win back voters who abandoned the party over its stance on Gaza, Labour’s election chief has said.
Pat McFadden acknowledged that Labour leader Sir Keir’s approach to the conflict cost the party votes at the local elections, with traditional supporters jumping ship to support independent candidates standing on a pro-Palestinian stance.
Analysis by the Telegraph found Labour’s support plummeted in areas with a high Muslim population, including Oldham, in Greater Manchester, where the party lost control of the council in a shock defeat.
Read more about McFadden’s comments on the impact of the Gaza row on Labour’s vote in the Telegraph.
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Braverman says Starmer has ‘charisma of a peanut’ in attack on Labour
Suella Braverman took aim at Labour as well as Rishi Sunak on Sunday morning. (Getty) Rishi Sunak wasn’t the only one to come under attack from Suella Braverman on Sunday, with the former Home Secretary saying Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has the “charisma of a peanut”.
In the same interview that she branded Conservative losses as a “disgrace”, Braverman took aim at Starmer.
In her appearance on Laura Kuenssberg, she described Labour as a “party of hard left maniacs, who would undo Brexit, who would open our borders, and who would indoctrinate our institutions and schools with PC madness”.
Read more in the Independent here.
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Will Sunak still be Conservative leader for the next general election?
What do the latest Conservative losses mean for Rishi Sunak? (Getty) The local election results are undoubtedly heaping further pressure on Rishi Sunak’s leadership.
The Conservatives are currently polling lower than under Liz Truss, with the latest YouGov/Times voting intention poll, released on Thursday, found the Tories on 18%, down 2% since 24 April.
Elections expert Prof Sir John Curtice has said: “When the round of elections held on Thursday was held back in 2016, the Conservatives lost ground too. Nevertheless, they still won 30% of the seats being contested. This time around they have won just 20%, even fewer than the Liberal Democrats.
“That is perhaps the clearest indication of the depths to which the party’s standing in the eyes of the public has now fallen, just six months at most from a general election.”
Read more about what the local elections mean for Sunak’s leadership on Yahoo News UK.
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Liam Fox: Replacing Rishi will rile Tory voters even more
Liam Fox has warned against a leadership challenge to Rishi Sunak. (Getty) Liam Fox has warned against any challenge to Rishi Sunak’s leadership of the Conservatives, despite the party’s huge local election losses.
Writing in the Independent, Fox said one of the factors that had stopped potential voters from coming out to vote for the Conservatives was their “deep irritation” at apparent splits in the party and the “untrammelled egos of a few individuals who seem to have little regard for the party’s wider wellbeing”.
He added: “Discretionary silence from the usual suspects would be of great benefit in allowing the government’s record to be the only voice heard in the run-up to the general election.”
Read Liam Fox’s full piece in the Independent here.
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Final English council election result announced at Salford
Salford was the last of the local election results to be announced. (Getty) The last of the 107 English council election results was announced at Salford early on Sunday afternoon.
Labour took 18 of the seats being contested, gaining one, the Liberal Democrats one and Conservatives two, losing one.
Labour now controls 51 of the 107 councils, while the Lib Dems control 12, the Conservatives six and independents one, with 37 under no overall control.
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Analysis: Labour taking ‘Tory crown jewel’ feels like a momentum shift
Defeated Conservative Andy Street, left, listens to Labour’s Richard Parker as he is elected the new West Midlands mayor. (PA) It was a wafer-thin victory, but a huge win.
The symbolism of Labour taking the West Midlands mayor, a jewel in the Tory crown, could be felt in the room as Labour activists gathered in Birmingham to celebrate the win with their new mayor Richard Parker and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
There are moments on election journeys when the momentum shifts – and this win felt like one of them.
Read the analysis from Beth Rigby of Sky News
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Labour not planning alliances with SNP
Labour is “not planning alliances” with the SNP “or anyone”, the party’s national campaign co-ordinator has said.
Pat McFadden said a change in SNP leader “doesn’t make much difference” after Humza Yousaf announced his resignation as first minister on Monday.
Asked if he “could imagine” Labour and the SNP working together if his party does not win a majority at a general election, McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips “no”.
He said: “Our aim is to win a majority, to govern, to meet the mood for change, and we’re not planning any alliances or pacts with anyone.”
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Labour campaign co-ordinator: Results give us belief we’ve been lacking in recent years
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Watch: Awkward moment defeated Susan Hall ‘left hanging’ as she tries to shake Sadiq Khan’s hand
Susan Hall and Sadiq Khan, centre, after the London mayoral results were announced. (PA) Sadiq Khan left his Tory opponent Susan Hall “hanging” on stage after she tried to congratulate him on his re-election by shaking his hand.
Hall, who lost out to the Labour mayor by over 275,000 votes, extended her arm after it was formally confirmed on Saturday that he had defeated her.
But Khan did not seem to see her at first, as he stared ahead at the crowd of journalists and party campaigners who had come to watch the result declaration.
The Conservative candidate appeared to twice tell him “well done”, before he turned and shook her hand.
Watch the video from the Evening Standard
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Plea to not drift right is ‘rubbish’, says Tory backbencher
Andy Street, after losing the West Midlands mayoralty, urged Rishi Sunak to lead from the political centre ground. (PA Images via Getty Images) The debate surrounding the Tories’ future direction is continuing to rage.
First Andy Street warned the party not to drift to the right after its disastrous election results. Then Suella Braverman, the hardline former home secretary, said Rishi Sunak needs to “change course”.
Now Conservative former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns has waded in… saying Street’s call was “rubbish”.
She told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme: “He would say that, he’s a leftie isn’t he? I thought he did a sterling job as mayor, [though] he and I have had run-ins before over policy.
“Look at Ben Houchen, he made the most of the opportunities around Brexit, is a plain-speaking northerner, and he won [the Tees Valley mayoralty]. It’s rubbish saying we’ve got to go to the centre of politics, it’s rubbish. I mean he lost his seat, it’s rubbish.”
She added: “I think [Sunak] is staring down the barrel of the gun isn’t he? As every Conservative is. We’ve got to wake up and smell the coffee, we’ve got to actually start delivering true Conservative values. I think he might listen a little bit.”
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Bring Boris Johnson back to front line, Tory MP says
(Getty Images) Conservative former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns has called for Boris Johnson to return to the “front line” of Tory campaigning.
Jenkyns, who submitted a letter of no confidence in Rishi Sunak in November, told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme: “I think now we’ve got to take the fight to Labour… I would like to see the return of Boris on the front line of politics, whether that’s going for a seat in the next election and being front and centre of our election campaign.”
Asked if she could see Johnson and Sunak campaigning together on joint visits – Sunak effectively ended Johnson’s spell in Downing Street by resigning as chancellor in 2022 – she said: “I’m not sure whether they’d share a stage together, but look how wonderful it is Boris campaigning in these elections.
“He’s still got a pull and he’s still got a pull in my area. Still on the doorstep, Trevor, people say to me that they’re saddened that Boris is no longer on the front line of politics.”
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‘Grabbing At Straws!’ Trevor Phillips Calls Out Minister For Spin On Local Elections Disaster
Transport secretary Mark Harper pictured on Sunday. (PA Images via Getty Images) Trevor Phillips called out transport secretary Mark Harper for his bizarrely optimistic take on the Tories’ terrible performance in the local elections.
“You actually took a whacking,” Sky News presenter Phillips told Harper.
Read more from HuffPost
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Braverman: I regret backing Sunak
Suella Braverman has finished her Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg interview with a parting shot at Rishi Sunak.
Asked if she regrets backing him previously, she said: “Honestly? Yes, I do.
“Because I had assurances from Rishi Sunak that he was going to put a cap on legal migration, that he was going to do something about the European Convention on Human Rights, that he was going to fix this transgender ideology in our schools. He hasn’t done that.”
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Braverman: Plot to oust Sunak? You tell me
Suella Braverman on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. (BBC) Suella Braverman has denied knowledge of a rebel Tory “plot” to oust Rishi Sunak.
Asked about this on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, she said: “I don’t… you tell me.
“I read what you read in the papers and the papers and journalists seem to like this subject about plotting and plotters.”
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Braverman: Tories will be lucky to win a single seat at general election
Suella Braverman has stepped up her attack on Rishi Sunak by claiming the Tories will be lucky to win a single seat at the general election.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, she claimed ministers in Sunak’s government feel the same way as she does about his leadership.
“Yes, of course. I talk to many of my colleagues who are privately demoralised and incredibly concerned about the prospects.
“At this rate, we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election. We need to fight.”
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Braverman not seeking change in leader
Suella Braverman appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. (PA) Suella Braverman, despite slating Rishi Sunak’s leadership, is not calling for him to be ousted.
“I just don’t think that is a feasible prospect right now,” she told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
“We don’t have enough time and it is impossible for anyone new to come and change our fortunes to be honest. There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.
“Rishi Sunak has been leading us for about 18 months, he has been making these decisions, these [election results are consequences of those decisions. He needs to own this and therefore he needs to fix it.”
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Braverman: Sunak needs to change course
Former home secretary Suella Braverman, who was sacked by Rishi Sunak at the end of last year, has appeared on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
“The plan is not working and I despair at these terrible results,” she said.
“There is no spinning these results, there is no disguising the fact that these have been terrible election results for the Conservatives and they suggest that we are heading to a Labour government, and that fills me with horror.
“I love my country, I care about my party and I want us to win, and I am urging the prime minister to change course, to with humility reflect on what voters are telling us, and change the plan and the way that he is communicating and leading us.”
This comes after Andy Street, the outgoing Conservative West Midlands mayor, urged the PM not to heed calls from Tory rebels to shift to the right following the local election results.
