Despite the Conservative party’s disastrous showing in last week’s local elections, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has expressed his resolve to continue his policies and take the fight to the opposition.
The local election results were a blow to the Tories, with losses in 10 councils and more than 470 council seats. Speaking for the first time since the election, Sunak acknowledged the “bitter disappointment” but said he was “determined to show people that we are delivering for them”.
“We will continue working as hard as ever to take the fight to Labour and deliver a brighter future for our country,” he stated, adding that he can make “progress” with voters before general elections later this year.
The Conservative losses in the local polls were the Labour Party’s gain as it won 10 out of 11 mayoralties up for grabs. Notably, Labour toppled the popular Tory mayor Andy Street in the West Midlands. In London, Sadiq Khan was easily re-elected as mayor, further humiliating the Conservatives.
Sadiq Khan used his victory speech to call for a general election, saying that “it’s time for (UK Prime Minister) Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice”.
Despite their terrible results, Transport Secretary Mark Harper asserted that the Tories are “up for the fight” of a general election.
“The prime minister is up for that fight, I am up for that fight, and I know the Conservative Party is up for it,” Harper said.
Calls for a shift to the right
Despite the electoral setbacks, internal critics of Sunak have decided against trying to replace him. However, they have called on Sunak to shift the party’s stance further to the right.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman led right-wing calls for the Prime Minister to take a tougher stance on issues like immigration. She claimed Tory voters were “on strike” because Sunak was “not conservative enough”.
“The hole to dig us out is the PM’s, and it’s time for him to start shovelling,” wrote the Indian-origin ex-minister in The Daily Telegraph.
Tories on thin ice
The local elections are seen as a penultimate test before the looming UK general election. The Conservatives’ electoral coalition, which brought them a landslide victory in 2019, appears to have weakened, if not disintegrated, following a series of political crises and the cost of living crisis.
Labour’s prospects of forming the next government appear promising, given their strong performance in the local elections. The opposition party secured control of councils they hadn’t held for decades and made significant gains in areas that voted for Brexit and supported Boris Johnson, such as Hartlepool and Thurrock.
Labour leader Keir Starmer’s centrist approach has been successful in attracting voters, but the party’s stance on the conflict in Gaza appears to have negatively affected their performance in some areas with large Muslim populations like Blackburn and Oldham.