Could there really be a hung parliament at the next UK general election?

Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer at the state opening of parliament. The prime minister has rebooted the Tories’ ‘coalition of chaos’ attack line about Labour. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Rishi Sunak has boldly claimed that the Conservatives’ disastrous set of local election results prove the country is on course for a hung parliament and a Labour-led “coalition of chaos” after the general election.

The prime minister seized on research by the election experts Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher suggesting that if Thursday’s results were replicated in a general election, Labour would fall short of enough seats to win outright.