Rishi Sunak has admitted the Conservatives may not win the general election after dismal defeats at the local polls.
O Prime Minister suggested that the UK was headed for a hung parliament and claimed that voters would not like to see the Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer “supported in Downing Street” by the SNP or smaller parties.
In an interview with The TimesSunak pointed to Sky News analysis of local election results by election expert Professor Michael Thrasher, who suggested The Labor Party would be the largest party in a hung parliament.
Politics live: PM told to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ after elections
“These results suggest we are heading towards a hung parliament, with Labor as the largest party,” Sunak told the newspaper.
“Keir Starmer supported in Downing Street by the SNP, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens would be a disaster for Britain.
“The country does not need more political negotiations, but action. We are the only party that has a plan to deliver on the people’s priorities.”
Meanwhile, Tory rebels have warned the Prime Minister to change his political course following the results of the weekend’s local elections.
See more information:
The winners and losers of local elections
Charts tell the story of the conservative collapse
Analysis: The Labor Party’s future success is less clear
Sunak asked to move to the right
Former Secretary of the Interior Suella Braverman urged him to shape the party to the right in order to win back voters.
But she told the BBC that a leadership change was not a “viable prospect”, adding: “There is no superman or superwoman who can do that.”
Braverman urged the prime minister to adopt several measures to win back voters, including more tax cuts and a limit on legal migration.
Rishi Sunak ‘ready to fight’ in general election
Conservatives are ready for the fight, insists minister
But Transport Secretary Mark Harper insisted that Sunak and the Conservatives are “ready to fight” in the general election despite poor results in local contests.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday morning with Trevor Phillips, the minister said: “I think the main thing people need to do now is support the Prime Minister, focus on the things the government is focused on delivering – the priorities of the British people around the economy, dealing with migration – and go there and take it upon myself to fight for the country before the general elections.”
Labor won 1,158 seats in England’s 107 councils that held elections on May 2, an increase of more than 232.
The Liberal Democrats won 552 seats, an increase of almost 100, while the Conservatives came third with 515 seats, a drop of almost 400.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
