[1andrew1]

Sunak is polling better than his party.

Rishi Sunak’s recent run of political success looks set to collide with electoral reality next month, when the Conservatives face a possible battering in local elections across England.

The UK prime minister has tried not to draw attention to the May 4 contests, which will take place in 8,000 seats across 230 council areas, in one of the biggest tests of public opinion ahead of the general election.

The national media was not invited to the party’s campaign launch in Wolverhampton on March 24 — few noticed it had even happened — while the Tory spring forum, normally a big event, was held behind closed doors.

With election experts claiming the party could lose perhaps 1,000 seats, the town hall contests look set to be a jarring note in the Tory narrative of political recovery under Sunak’s leadership.

“The prime minister is doing well, but we need a lot more time to win the public back after last year’s disasters,” admitted one Sunak ally, referring to the doomed premierships of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.

The Conservatives face a fight on two fronts, with Labour looking to reclaim the “red wall” of the North and Midlands, and the Liberal Democrats looking to make gains in the southern Tory “blue wall”.

Sunak has closed to just four points the gap on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in “who would make the best prime minister” polling, according to YouGov, but his party still typically trails Labour by 15-20 points.

https://www.ft.com/content/317d9cd3-...9-29026193f7e1