A Nottinghamshire Conservative MP is giving Rishi Sunak the 'benefit of the doubt' after local elections saw the party lose more than 30 councillors in the county. Across the country, the Conservative Party lost more than 1,000 councillors in an election which saw Labour being returned as the largest party in local government for the first time since 2002.
In Nottinghamshire, the Conservatives lost full control of Newark and Sherwood District Council, one of two district and borough authorities which were previous strongholds. In the other, Rushcliffe Borough Council, the party kept control but lost five councillors in the process.
Mansfield MP and Nottinghamshire County Council leader, Ben Bradley, has organised a letter to the Prime Minister which asks for help in trying to "demonstrate clearly on the doorstep what Conservative policies mean in the real world". The letter, also signed by Nottinghamshire MPs including Bassetlaw's Brendan Clarke-Smith and Gedling's Tom Randall, says "this must happen urgently, before the summer".
