UK’s Sunak faces first date with voters

PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives are braced for heavy losses in their first major electoral test since he became the UK’s third leader in the space of a few chaotic weeks last year.

In the depths of the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, the local council elections across England today will shed light on the main parties’ standing ahead of a UK-wide general election expected next year.