Tories beware: the Lib Dems are back

Every prime minister has at least one guilty pleasure; Rishi Sunak has several. Colleagues tease him for his taste in music (Michael Bublé), television (Emily in Paris) and literature (Jilly Cooper CBE). One of his favourite novels is Cooper’s first ‘bonkbuster’ Riders, a tale about the great and good – and a Tory minister for sport – frolicking in the fictional Cotswolds county of Rutshire. Infidelity, duplicity and intrigue, all playing out in Conservative heartlands.

Sunak’s problem is that these days places like Rutshire might no longer be Tory safe seats. Formerly true-blue parts of the country may be set to turn yellow. In the local elections, the Liberal Democrats surpassed expectations, winning control in Home Counties councils including Theresa May’s territory of Windsor and Maidenhead, and denying the Tories control of Hertsmere, where Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is the MP.