The Prime Minister and his allies are on the defensive after the Conservatives lost hundreds of local council seats and the prestigious West Midlands mayoralty to Labour.
Suella Braverman launched an astonishing attack on Rishi Sunak this morning, warning that he is leading the Tories to a potential general election wipeout unless he alters political course.
But in a brutal appearance on the BBC's Sunday with Lura Kuenssberg, Ms Braverman said: 'The plan is not working ... at this rate we will be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election.' Suella Braverman , the Conservative former home secretary, was quick to lay the blame for Tory losses at the door of Downing Street, but she said ousting Mr Sunak as party leader 'won't work'.
In an attempt to prop up support for the PM, Mr Harper insisted polls giving Labour a massive lead 'are not correct. The Conservatives lost 397 council seats across England in the council elections, with Labour gaining 232, the Lib Dems 98 and Greens 64. 'While Labour made some gains, they have failed to romp to victory, falling well short of the 350 predicted gains,' he said.
The premier had been desperate for Mr Street to join Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen in the winner's circle, demonstrating that the party can still win big contests. 'Ben Houchen won without having the balls to wear a blue rosette, even at his own victory count... Rishi's Sunak's utterly hapless Leadership is now definitely in play.'
A former minister told MailOnline that victory for Mr Street would have 'eased the pressure' on the PM. The MP said the key question for the rebels was who would be better than Mr Sunak: 'No one and they know it.' Recounts took place in Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and Coventry as the parties wrangle over every single vote.
Andy Burnham emerged victorious in Greater Manchester by 63 per cent to just 10 per cent for his Tory opponent. 'We Conservatives have everything to fight for – and we will because we are fighting for our values and our country's future.' On Labour losses over its stance on Gaza, Sir John said: 'At the moment I think what we would find if we had a general election is that Labour might well fall back in some of these seats, but because the Labour Party is already so strong, they would probably still succeed in winning the parliamentary election.
Mr Sunak suffered a blow in his own back yard as Labour took the York and North Yorkshire mayor post. Overall, Labour won control of eight councils as it saw a net gain of 204 seats, while the Liberal Democrats gained 92 seats and the Greens 58.
News UK Local Elections Rishi Sunak Birmingham Labour Keir Starmer Downing Street London Conservatives John Lewis Sadiq Khan Mark Harper Suella Braverman BBC
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