Rishi Sunak braced for critical ballot box test in local elections

Vote will be the broadest test of public opinion for the PM since he entered No 10 last year

Millions of people are eligible to vote in local elections in England on Thursday. PA

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set for a crucial ballot box test as Labour seeks major gains in Thursday's local elections.

The Conservative leader is under pressure to perform well as his party continues to trail the opposition in opinion polls.

Issues at the forefront of voters’ minds include the government’s response to the cost-of-living crisis, the state of the National Health Service and cross-sector strikes that have disrupted the lives of millions of people. Local issues such as planning and transport also feature high on the list, according to a recent Ipsos survey.

Labour leader Keir Starmer on Wednesday used home ownership as his latest weapon to condemn the Tories’ record after 13 years in power. During Prime Minister’s Questions in parliament, he accused the ruling party of committing “economy vandalism” by causing rising mortgage payments.

“It’s not just those who already own their home that are counting the cost of Tory recklessness, the average deposit for a first-time buyer is going up to £9,000 [$11,260],” Mr Starmer said.

Mr Sunak countered by saying his government has introduced a “95 per cent mortgage guarantee scheme” and is “helping people in social housing own their own home through our first homes and our shared home ownership schemes”.

Labour leader Keir Starmer takes a break from campaigning for local elections in Blackpool, Lancashire. PA

In a personal dig at the Prime Minister, Mr Starmer said it would take an average person four years to save £9,000, which is “roughly the annual bill to heat his swimming pool”.

Mr Sunak in turn took aim at Labour’s record on house building, claiming former London mayor Boris Johnson outperformed his successor Sadiq Khan on the issue.

“In London, the former Conservative mayor [Mr Johnson] built 60,000 affordable homes in his first five years in office, how many did the current Labour mayor manage? Half of that,” Mr Sunak said.

Labour, he said, stood for “higher council tax, higher crime and a litany of broken promises”.

“Meanwhile, we’re getting on with delivering what we say, with lower council tax, lower crime and fewer potholes,” he added.

The elections will take place in every region of England, excluding London, and will give about 70 per cent of the electorate the opportunity to cast their vote. More than 8,000 council seats across 230 authorities are up for grabs.

After last year’s political upheaval, in which there were three Tory prime ministers in as many months, voters’ trust in the ruling party plummeted.

Mr Starmer’s party has an 18-point lead over the Conservatives in the latest opinion polls.

The former director of public prosecutions is believed to be taking inspiration from Tony Blair’s method of leadership as part of his plan to lead a Labour government.

More than 8,000 council seats across 230 authorities are up for grabs in Thursday's local elections

Political scientist Sir John Curtice has said if Labour scores a victory of more than 10 per cent over the Conservatives in the local elections, it could signal the party is on course to win the next general election. He said projected national vote share, rather than the number of council seats gained, would offer a better indication of how the electorate views Labour.

Since taking office in October, Mr Sunak has come up against mounting pressure from opposition MPs and those in his own party to address the migration crisis.

An Ipsos poll showed immigration is among the national issues most important to voters.

Fears have been raised over new rules on voter identification. For the first time, voters in England will be required to present photographic identification before casting their ballot.

Only certain types of ID — including a passport, driving licence and blue badge — will be accepted.

The Electoral Commission has estimated about 4 per cent of Britain’s population were unlikely to have a valid form of photo ID to vote — the equivalent of about two million people.

Labour MP Clive Betts warned the government “simply won’t know” how many people have been turned away from polling stations because they lack acceptable proof of identity.

He raised concerns after receiving a letter from the Electoral Commission that said data from team greeting voters outside polling stations would not allow them to “accurately quantify the wider impact of the policy”.

“It appears that the government has designed a system, which denies the prospect of sensible and co-ordinated information collection and makes it almost impossible to judge the true impact of the introduction of voter ID,” he said.