The UK’s ruling Conservative Party and opposition Labour Party are trying to manage expectations ahead of local elections next week, where Chancellor Rishi Sunak will

face his first major electoral test since becoming prime minister. The Tories are facing a difficult cycle due to war in Ukraine, inflation and recovery from the Covid pandemic, according to Transport Secretary Mark Harper.

Experts predict that the Tories are “heading for a drubbing,” while the public expect the party to lose seats. Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer argued that the Tories saw their second-worst results ever in 2019 and that if the party couldn't make gains after such a result, then there are serious questions as to whether Sunak is going backwards in terms of electoral prospects.

Labour could make around “400 net gains from the Conservatives” to become the largest party in local government across Britain. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said he hopes that many Conservative voters would turn to his party in the local elections. Photo by Number 10, Wikimedia commons.