Local elections 2023: Sunak admits it will be ‘tough’ for Tories as leaders make final pitches to voters
Rishi Sunak admitted the local elections will be “tough” for the Conservatives as party leaders made their final pitches to voters on the eve of polls opening.
With some analysts predicting the Tories could lose 1,000 seats, the prime minister was managing expectations on the campaign trail in Buckinghamshire.
Asked how badly his party might perform, Mr Sunak said: “We’ve always said these are going to be a tough set of elections for us.”
He added: “We are concentrating on delivering on people’s priorities.
“So at a local level, that’s about low council tax where Conservative areas have a council tax that is on average £80 lower than Labour ones; crime is lower and we fill more potholes.
“Nationally, I’m focused on my five priorities – that’s halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting waiting lists and stopping the boats.”
Leaders from the main parties have all been making campaign stops today.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the country “desperately needs change” and “you can sense that in the air”.
Speaking in the Labour target of Medway, Kent, Sir Keir said: “This is going to be all about the cost of living. It’s absolutely clear the government has nothing to say about that. We’ve got a positive case to tell and we hope that we’ll be able to make some progress tomorrow.”
The election campaign comes against the backdrop of soaring inflation. But as well as the cost of living, crime and the Conservatives’ record on the NHS have been key battlegrounds for opposition parties hoping to make gains.
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Ed Conway compares local election results from all the way back to the 1990s to gain insight into voter behaviours.
Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats, who are targeting rural and suburban seats held by the Tories, have put plans to tackle water quality at the heart of their messaging.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said he is going into Thursday’s election feeling “very hopeful” and claimed many Conservative voters would turn to his party.
“They are increasingly fed up with the Conservatives, we are finding life-long Conservatives telling us they will never vote Conservative again”, he said.
Voters in 230 local authorities across England are going to the polls tomorrow and elections are also taking place to choose mayors in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough.
It’s the biggest test of public opinion this side of the next general election, and Labour’s chance to prove it’s on course to form the next government, as current national polling suggests.
Read More:
Local elections: A guide through the night – and the key councils to watch
As Labour eyes gains in the local elections, voters have one pressing issue on their minds
The Conservatives will be hoping to keep losses to a minimum, while Labour and the Lib Dems will be judged on whether their parties are able to make gains at the expense of the Tories.
People are being urged to remember their ID when going to vote – as this is the first election in England where there will be a requirement to show photographic identification before casting their ballot.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
World
Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people waiting for aid in Khan Younis, Hamas-run health ministry says
Israeli tank shellfire has killed at least 51 Palestinians in Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex.
It is feared that the number of fatalities will rise.
Pic: Reuters
The strikes took place as people waited for United Nations and commercial aid trucks in the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd.
“Emergency, intensive care, and operating rooms are experiencing severe overcrowding,” a statement said.
Officials say medical staff “are operating with limited supplies of life-saving medicines” – with the ministry renewing an “urgent appeal” to increase aid.
Pic: Reuters
Hours earlier, Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on this incident.
On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 34 people were shot dead near food distribution centres.
This was the highest reported daily total since Israel and US-backed aid centres opened last month, with thousands of Palestinians moving through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach them.
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