UK PM faces first test of comeback credentials in local polls
Rishi Sunak faces his first big electoral test as British prime minister next week in local polls where the opposition Labour Party hopes to capitalise on a year of chaos for the governing Conservatives, ahead of a national election expected next year.
Sunak has tried to restore the credibility of the Conservative Party since coming to office in October, but he has struggled to draw a line under the turmoil that beset his predecessors despite breakthroughs on issues like Brexit, Reuters reported.
The scandal-ridden premiership of Boris Johnson and the chaotic economic policies that brought down Liz Truss within two months presented Sunak with an unenviable inheritance: A double-digit poll lead for a resurgent Labour.
With voters going through a cost-of-living crisis and inflation stubbornly high at about 10%, local council votes in much of England on May 4 give Labour an opportunity to prove their electoral credentials.
It is towns like Swindon in southwest England which Labour leader Keir Starmer is targeting in a bid to return his party to power at the next national election, due before January 2025.
Swindon has returned lawmakers representing the winning party at every national election since 1983, making it a bellwether and a key target for Labour, who chose the town for the launch of their local election campaign.
“It’s obviously a key staging post in terms of where we anticipate the next general election will be,” Jonathan Reynolds, a Labour lawmaker in Starmer’s shadow cabinet, told Reuters during a visit to Swindon.
He expressed optimism ahead of the vote, reflecting polls which give Labour an average lead of around 15 percentage points - a substantial lead but well down from highs of around 30 points during Truss’s premiership.
Keiran Pedley, director of politics at Ipsos, said Sunak had been a steadying influence but would have to deliver on issues like the cost of living to improve his party’s ratings further ahead of the next national election.
“Whilst Sunak’s personal poll ratings aren’t great, they’re not toxic in the way that his predecessors have been,” he said.
Council elections can provide an indication of the public mood but also result in protest votes that overstate the unpopularity of the government, or be swayed by local factors.
David Renard, the Conservative leader of Swindon Borough Council, said the national picture might hinder his attempts to focus the campaign on more local
issues.