Tory leaders confident of gains in May local elections

Councillors think party will not be punished for rising poverty and will take Sunderland from Labour

Conservative leaders insist they are on track for strong results in local elections across England, predicting they will seize control of one of Labour's longest-held councils, despite many admitting more should be done to ease the nightmare" of soaring bills.

More than a million people are expected to be pushed into absolute poverty after Rishi Sunak's mini-budget, which has attracted heavy criticism from experts and Tory backbenchers.