Rishi Sunak replaced by Boris Johnson on Tory local election leaflets

Rishi Sunak stood next to a pothole and frowned.

Flanked by local politicians, the Prime Minister agreed on Friday to take part in a cheesy photoshoot to promote Conservative candidates ahead of the local elections on May 4.

The image of him bent down looking at the crater sparked mockery online, with Twitter users suggesting he should send the tarmac to Rwanda or avoid it completely by travelling in a private jet.

But while the photo made the newspapers and entertained commentators back in Westminster, some jittery council election candidates would prefer to see less of Mr Sunak, amid fears he is damaging their chances on polling day.

The Telegraph has seen Conservative election leaflets in several target areas that do not feature photographs of the Prime Minister – instead showing images of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Suella Braverman.

Campaign material from constituencies including Lewes, Cheadle, Solihull and East Cleveland shows MPs and councillors but no images of Mr Sunak.

Scott Benton, in Blackpool South, has released a pamphlet showing him with Mr Gove, Levelling Up Secretary, and Mr Johnson, former prime minister, but not the current party leader.

A leaflet from Eastbourne, where the Conservatives are currently in opposition on the local council, contains no references to the party’s work in Westminster but focuses on its offering to residents on parking, weed-killing and the maintenance of graveyards.

One Tory source said: “MPs that feel they are under threat often run locally-focused campaigns that distance them from the party’s branding.”

The Prime Minister launched his party’s offering at a lacklustre event in the Black Country last week that national media outlets were not invited to attend.

Privately, Tory sources fear that experts are correct in predicting losses of up to 1,000 seats when voters select new councillors in 230 council areas on May 4.

Labour looks set to pick up hundreds of seats in areas that last voted in local elections in 2019, when Jeremy Corbyn was still the party’s leader.

National polling shows that the Conservatives still trail Labour by 18 points, despite recent improvements in Mr Sunak’s personal ratings.

In Westminster, there is increasing optimism among MPs that the Government is winning back the trust of the public after dire poll ratings under Liz Truss’s administration.

Liam Booth-Smith, Downing Street chief of staff, has told aides that the Government is “turning the ship” of public opinion, but stressed that earning back the trust of voters will take time.

There is enthusiasm on the Conservative backbenches for Mr Sunak’s recent announcements on immigration policy and the Windsor Framework, a deal with the EU that is designed to resolve issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Mr Sunak’s “Five Priorities”, outlined in a January speech, have been stamped in the signatures of internal emails and on press releases in an attempt to remind staff and the media that the Government is delivering on its promises.

Downing Street has adopted a “show, not tell” attitude and insists that policies will only be announced if they can be followed through – in what aides describe as a marked change of approach to that of Mr Johnson’s administration.

But the local elections have presented the Conservatives with three main challenges.

First, Labour stands to gain a significant number of seats on polling day in May because the last election in most of the 8,141 wards took place in May 2019, when the party was much less popular under the leadership of Mr Corbyn.

Second, the Liberal Democrats are squeezing Tory votes in “Blue Wall” seats in the south of England, in towns and cities that were previously considered Conservative heartlands.

Ed Davey, Lib Dem leader, launched his party’s local election campaign in Berkhamsted, where he drove a tractor through a wall of straw bales painted blue and said gains next month would provide a “strong base” for more Westminster seats next year.

Third, Tory finances have been decimated in recent months and some fear the party does not have enough money to fight a major local campaign, followed by a general election next year.

There are fears the Westminster election may have to be delayed until after the Conservatives have raised revenue from its 2024 annual conference, which is to be held in Birmingham in the Autumn.

Conservative Campaign Headquarters in Westminster has recently cut its reception staff and no longer operates a 24-hour desk.

The issue is likely to be exacerbated by an exodus of donors from the Conservative Party to a new Johnson-supporting splinter group, the Conservative Democratic Organisation (CDO).

Sources close to the organisation say major party donors have cancelled their payments to the central party and are now funding the CDO’s shadow campaign instead.

The Conservatives have launched a local campaign built on a promise to bring down crime rates, following an announcement last week that the Government will do more to fix anti-social behaviour.

The plan includes a new ban on laughing gas, which ministers say causes litter and health problems, and new visible punishments for perpetrators that include washing police cars wearing visible jumpsuits.

Labour launched its campaign with a televised speech from Sir Keir Starmer, who claimed that his party would have reduced council tax by funding local authorities with a windfall tax on oil and gas firms if it was in Government.

Mr Sunak says his pothole pledge will see roads inspected more frequently and defective roads patched up.

His party hopes he can do the same to his poll ratings or risk an embarrassment at the ballot box next month.