Sunak under pressure after dire Tory losses and leadership gripes

One of Rishi Sunak’s Tory MPs described the losses to the Lib Dems and Greens in the south as ‘a bloodbath’. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

Rishi Sunak faced devastating losses of more than 1,000 Tory seats in the local elections, while Labour has said the party is on track to win power at the next general election.

The prime minister conceded on Friday the English council results were “disappointing”, but faced a scathing verdict from some of his MPs and the first rumblings of a threat to his leadership from allies of Boris Johnson.