Labor's victory in Thurrock was one of many Tory defeats in the local council on Thursday
Rishi Sunak needs to give people a reason to vote Conservative , the outgoing Conservative leader of Thurrock Council said after a difficult night of losses for the party.
Andrew Jeffries, whose council is now under Labor control after Thursday's vote, said the public felt “disillusioned” after 14 years of Tory rule and disappointed.”
Downing Street is bracing for the Prime Minister's leadership to be questioned by Tory critics in the coming days as full local election results become known.
Some Conservative voices have already called for Mr Sunak to be replaced by On Friday morning, but the scale and severity of the backlash was yet to be seen.
Mr Jeffries said Mr Sunak needed to “give people a reason to vote Conservative”.
He told the BBC: “We are very disappointed with the result achieved this evening. This is to be expected, all the polls told us this would happen.
“The Conservative Party, the government must give people a reason to vote Conservative. At the moment, people feel despondent and disappointed.
“We need a reason to vote and I believe the Prime Minister will step up and give people that reason again.”
However, he said he backed Mr Sunak to remain in office
Some wider early backlash was directed against the Prime Minister, and questions began to be raised about his leadership.
David Campbell Bannerman, former Conservative MEP and Chairman of the Conservative Party democratic organization, publicly called for the Prime Minister to resign.
Mr Campbell Bannerman tweeted: “New leader; Eliminating CCHQ.” CCHQ is an acronym for Conservative Campaign Headquarters.
In another tweet, he said it was “time” for a change in leadership.
The Tory infantry suffers an absolute defeat. More details
Mr Campbell Bannerman later commented to The Telegraph: “Once again, local elections under Sunak have been absolutely disastrous. A year ago we should have received seats under his leadership; we lost 1000 advisors. This time it is the worst result in the last 40 years.
“Sunak is not a natural campaigner and has not even been seen on the campaign trail. The lesson is clear: enough of this disastrous, pointless and pointless leadership. Rishi must go and go now.
“This is a reality check for Tory MPs: avoiding the problem is enough. If you don't dump Sunak now, the party will be over for at least a decade or more and the country will be in danger from the hard-left woke Labor Party. Do what needs to be done and do it quickly!”
Tim Montgomery, a commentator who founded the Conservative Home website, said early results were “disastrous.”
He added: “The problem is that Rishi Sunak is a very good, decent person, but he cannot engage in politics.”
Conservative rebels, disillusioned with the Prime Minister's leadership, have been plotting for weeks to try to undermine his position following the local election results.
One conservative said: “Reform will kill us.” 39; after Richard Tice's party trailed the Tories by just 117 votes to come second in the Blackpool South by-election. Photo: REUTERS/Phil Noble
Some of the numbers in this camp on Friday morning were very critical.
One told The Telegraph: “This is the extreme end of how bad it can be.” Another said: “Reform will kill us.”
Reform, the party of Richard Tice and Nigel Farage, beat off the Conservatives by just 117 votes to come second in the Blackpool South by-election.
Only Few Conservative MPs made their views public on the results early on Friday, with results due to be announced on Friday and Saturday.
Particular focus of the Conservative Party is whether Tory mayors Ben Houchen in Tees Valley and Andy Street in the West Midlands can be re-elected.
Mr Houchen's result is expected to be announced around lunchtime on Friday. Mr Sunak could appear there if victory is declared.
Mr Street's result is due to be announced on Saturday. Both candidates kept the Tory government in Westminster at arm's length during their campaigns.
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