Tories demand Rishi Sunak ‘deliver’ on pledges after ‘wake-up call’ local election results

Rishi Sunak is under pressure from senior Conservatives to deliver on his flagship pledges after his own party chair described the disastrous local election results as a “wake-up call”.

The prime minister was dealt a major blow in his first election test as the Tories lost dozens of councils to Labour and the Lib Dems, leading to comparisons with the dire days of the mid-1990s.

His MPs warned that voters now needed to see tangible improvements in the NHS and the economy before next year’s general election if they were to vote for the Tories.