Sunak: Tories have everything to fight for

Rishi Sunak, pictured on a visit to Catterick Garrison, says the Conservatives ‘are fighting for our values and our country’s future’ – Simon Dawson/Number 10 Downing Street

Rishi Sunak has said the Conservatives have “everything to fight for” as key mayoral contests offered the party a glimmer of hope.

Writing for The Telegraph, the Prime Minister issued a rallying cry after Labour and Tory sources said Conservative Andy Street would win in the West Midlands and predicted that Sadiq Khan’s race to be re-elected in London would be closer than expected.

The Tories suffered a bruising set of results in local elections across England on Friday, with the party predicted to lose as many as half of its councillors up for re-election once all results had been declared.

The BBC estimated that, if replicated across the UK at a general election, the Tory vote share would be 25 per cent – a record low – with Labour on 34 per cent. Sky News analysis suggested that could lead to a hung Parliament, while other analysts said it would give Labour a 100-seat majority.

The Conservatives were almost pushed into third place by Reform in the Blackpool South by-election, where Chris Webb was elected as Labour MP thanks to a vast vote swing from the Tories.

But Ben Houchen’s re-election as the Tory Mayor of Tees Valley was seized upon by Downing Street as proof that Friday’s results had not been as catastrophic as had been feared.

It meant a group of Tory rebels who for weeks had been talking up an attempt to oust Mr Sunak after the local elections had admitted defeat by Friday afternoon.

In his article for The Telegraph, Mr Sunak pointed to the positives for the Conservatives in the results, writing: “Thursday’s results showed that voters are frustrated and wondering why they should vote.

“The fact that Labour is not winning in places they admit they need for a majority shows that Keir Starmer’s lack of plan and vision is hurting them. We Conservatives have everything to fight for – and we will, because we are fighting for our values and our country’s future.”

Elsewhere, the Prime Minister wrote that “across the board, we are taking a truly Conservative approach” – an apparent response to critics demanding more Right-wing policies in the wake of the council losses.

By Friday evening, the Tories were down 249 councillors and Labour up 145 councillors. The Liberal Democrats were up 39 and the Greens 32, while Reform, which had only stood in one-sixth of seats, was down two.

Labour seized overall control of notable councils including Rushmoor – known as the home of the British Army because it includes Aldershot Garrison – and Hartlepool, where a huge Tory by-election victory under Boris Johnson in 2021 led Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, to consider quitting.

On Friday, Sir Keir said the country had voted for “change”.

In the Blackpool South by-election, prompted by the resignation of Scott Benton, the Tory MP, over a lobbying scandal, the Conservative vote share dropped from 50 per cent at the last election to 18 per cent.

It was the third-biggest fall in Tory vote share at a by-election since the Second World War. Mark Butcher, the Reform candidate, came within 117 votes of beating the Conservatives to second place.

Sir Keir visited the seat for a victory speech, saying: “Here in Blackpool, a message has been sent directly to the Prime Minister, to say we are fed up with your decline, your chaos and your division, and we want change.”

However, there were signs of a backlash against Labour from Muslim voters over Sir Keir’s stance on Gaza, with the Labour leader having been criticised for not calling for a ceasefire early enough.

The party lost control of Oldham council, and insiders said the dynamic was being seen in the Birmingham and London mayoral races.

Developments in mayoral races, some of which were called on Friday, with other results due on Saturday, were jumped on by Mr Sunak.

Lord Houchen, the Tees Valley Mayor and a poster boy for Boris Johnson’s past Red Wall victories, had been expected to win after securing 73 per cent of the vote last time. His victory, announced shortly after midday on Friday, saw him secure 54 per cent of the vote, beating Chris McEwan, his Labour rival, on 41 per cent.

Mr Sunak appeared alongside Lord Houchen, who had distanced himself from the Government during his re-election campaign, and suggested the result offered the Conservatives hope for the general election.

The Prime Minister said Labour had “assumed that Tees Valley would just stroll back to them, but it didn’t. People knew that they couldn’t be taken for granted”.

There were also signs that an apparent revolt by some Muslim voters could impact key mayoral races in which results will be declared on Saturday.

Some Labour sources claimed voters abandoning the party over Gaza would help Mr Street, the West Midlands mayor seeking re-election in one of the most closely watched contests. A victory for him would be a boost for Mr Sunak.

On Friday night, both Labour and Tory sources were saying that the race in London, where Mr Khan hopes to win a third term, was much closer than expected. A victory for the Tory candidate, Susan Hall, would defy both the polls and Westminster assumptions.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said on Friday that the party had lost council seats because of the war in Gaza but would “earn votes back in future”.

The Tories failed to win the new mayoralty of York and North Yorkshire, with Sir Keir celebrating a Labour triumph in Mr Sunak’s constituency.

Labour’s Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham are also expected to be re-elected as the mayors for Manchester and Liverpool respectively with ease, with the results due on Saturday.

There was some criticism of the Prime Minister from Tory backbenchers on Friday. Andrea Jenkyns, a Tory MP who has called on Mr Sunak to resign in the past, said he had to “wake up” and be more Conservative.

But with Lord Houchen’s victory – and Mr Street’s re-election looking likely – even the staunchest of Tory rebels effectively admitted defeat. On Friday afternoon, one said: “We’re off to the pub.”

Another source in the rebel camp told The Telegraph: “Rishi is now going to own the election. He gets what he wants. He is going to lead us to oblivion.”

However, Nadine Dorries, a former Tory MP, said it would be “madness” and “insane” to change leader so close to an election.

Richard Holden, the Conservative Party chairman, struck an optimistic tone, saying: “I think it’s not game over at all. I think it’s game on.”

On Friday night, a Downing Street insider indicated that the general election would take place in the autumn, potentially giving the Tories six months to attempt to turn around the polls.

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles – and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.