Nearly half of Tory councillors think Rishi Sunak's Government is too left wing, and 65% are unhappy with national leaders, a damning survey found. The discontent in his own ranks comes as the PM braces himself for another drubbing in local and mayoral
elections next month. A new poll of nearly 400 Conservative councillors show almost two thirds are dissatisfied with the national party. And 47% believe it is too left wing, while 24% believe it's too right wing, polling by Savanta found. Just one in five are satisfied with how the Government is doing. The Conservatives are expected to lose hundreds of seats at council elections on May 2 and a general
election wipeout later in the year. And anger within the party is growing, the latest polling shows - with insiders warning the true picture could be even worse. Claire Bullivant, chief executive of the Conservative
Democratic Organisation - which represents grassroots Tories - told The Sunday Telegraph that most are cautious about publicly criticising leaders. She said: "In my experience, most Conservative councillors follow the Ronald Reagan principle and will never berate a fellow Conservative or talk down our party publicly. So even though these gures paint a bleak picture, I'm sure they're actually even bleaker in reality." The polling was conducted by Savanta on behalf of think-tank
Labour Together. Some 39% said they're dissatisfied with Mr Sunak's
Job as party leader, although 37% said they're happy. Six in ten (62%) said they are unhappy with the amount of money their area gets from central government, with just 17% who report being satisfied with this. And disgruntlement is significantly higher among Tory councillors in Conservative-controlled local authorities, with 71% dissatisfied. Josh Simons, director of Labour Together, said: "Just weeks from the local elections, this polling underscores the scale of discontent among Conservative councillors. Unhappy with the direction the country is going in, fed up with leaders too weak to lead, and tired of self-defeating budget cuts imposed by Whitehall, the Tory grassroots is running out of patience. Local elections can be unpredictable, though. "The Conservatives may hold Mayoralties in Teeside and the West Midlands. A solid performance could be exactly what Sunak needs to steady the ship until the autumn. That would mean months more of a Prime Minister who always puts party before country." Savanta polled 391 Tory councillors in February and March Join our Mirror Politics
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