Sunak launches Tory local elections campaign

THE Prime Minister has urged voters to “send a message to Keir Starmer” as he launched the Conservatives’ local election campaign. At a rally in Heanor, Derbyshire, Rishi Sunak said the Labour leader was “arrogantly taking the British people for granted” and “assuming that he can just stroll into Number 10 without saying what he would do”.

Talking up the achievements of Conservative mayors such as Ben Houchen and Andy Street ahead of the election on May 2, Mr Sunak attacked the financial record of Labour-run councils, saying: “They tax you more and deliver less.”

Pointing to examples across the border in Nottinghamshire, he said: “It’s the same across our councils too. Just look what’s happening here – Nottingham Council effectively bankrupt.

“After having a fire-sale of assets, they still can’t balance the books, in contrast to the extraordinarily well-run Conservative Nottinghamshire County Council.

“Whenever Labour runs something, they run it into the ground. In Birmingham, they have effectively bankrupted the largest local authority in Europe. They have saddled their constituents with a 21% council tax rise.”

Eight councils, run by both Labour and the Conservatives, have declared effective bankruptcy since 2018, with others warning they could be next as they struggle to make further cuts.

Last year’s local elections saw the Conservatives lose more than 1,000 councillors, while Labour overtook them to become the largest party in local government. Since then, the Tories’ polling position has deteriorated, reaching depths last seen under Liz Truss’s brief leadership as the party faces a 20-point gap to Labour and an increasing challenge from the Reform UK party.

Chris Jackson > The Princess of Wales with her husband on a visit to Cardiff last October

> Rishi Sunak launches his party’s local elections campaign in Heanor