‘Send a message to Starmer,’ Sunak says as he takes swipe at Labour leader while launching local election fightback

RISHI Sunak today urged voters to "send a message to Keir Starmer" as he launched the Tories' local election campaign.

At a rally in Heanor, Derbyshire, the PM blasted the Labour leader for "arrogantly taking the British people for granted".

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He hit out at Sir Keir for "assuming that he can just stroll into Number 10 without saying what he would do".

Ahead of polling day on May 2, the PM hyped up the achievements of Tory mayors and attacked Labour-run councils for financial mismanagement and tumbling into bankruptcy.

Mr Sunak said: "They tax you more and deliver less."

Pointing to examples across the border in Nottinghamshire, he said: "It's the same across our councils too. Just look what's happening here, Nottingham Council effectively bankrupt.

"After having a fire-sale of assets, they still can't balance the books, in contrast to the extraordinarily well-run Conservative Nottinghamshire County Council.

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"Whenever Labour runs something, they run it into the ground. In Birmingham, they have effectively bankrupted the largest local authority in Europe. They have saddled their constituents with a 21% council tax rise."

Eight councils, run by Labour and the Tories, have been declared effectively bankruptcy since 2018.

Other town hall chiefs have warned they could be next as officials struggle to make cuts.

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The PM was joined by Ben Bradley, MP for Mansfield and leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, who is running to be East Midlands Mayor at the elections in May.

Mr Sunak said: "There's no-one better to be your first mayor than Ben Bradley. Not only did Ben literally create this role, he also has a track record of bringing in investment."

Last year's local elections saw the Tories lose more than 1,000 councillors, while Labour overtook them to become the largest party in local government.

The party is on track for more mega losses with the Conservatives currently polling at just 19 per cent.

The local elections could prove make-or-break for the PM, with some backbench Tories threatening to try and oust him if results are dire.