British Prime Minister Sunak faces his first electoral test in England’s domestic races

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the door of Downing Street in London

Written by Andrew MacAskill and Alistair Smoot

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s local elections began on Thursday, the first major electoral test for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after a year in which the Conservative Party was plagued by scandals, strikes and economic chaos.

The election is seen as one of the last big opportunities to gauge popular support ahead of national elections due next year, and a chance to gauge whether the main opposition Labor Party can turn around its double-digit lead in the polls.

Sunak, who came to power last year after the scandals faced by Boris Johnson and the chaotic economic policies that ousted Blaise Truss, is credited with stabilizing the British economy. But his party is expected to suffer heavy losses when the results are announced on Friday.

Sunak said on Wednesday evening that the results would be “difficult for us” and that the Conservatives would lose some of their seats as a result of the events of the past year.

The votes will determine the more than 8,000 council seats across England in the 230 local governments responsible for delivering day-to-day public services such as rubbish collection, schools and transport.

The Conservatives face a twofold struggle: with the main opposition Labor party – which leads by about 15 percentage points in national opinion polls – seeking to win back seats in the so-called red wall areas of northern and central England, and the Liberal Democrats. trying to make gains in the south.

The major parties are trying to manage expectations in the run-up to the elections. The Conservative leader said his party could lose around 1,000 seats, while Labor leader Keir Starmer said the Conservatives were likely to gain because of their poor past record.

The last time most of those seats in England were available was in 2019, when the Conservatives fared poorly, losing more than 1,000 seats while smaller parties such as the Liberal Democrats and the Greens made gains. Then Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation later that month.