LONDON: Voters went to the polls in England on Thursday for a host of crunch local elections likely to ratchet up the pressure on embattled Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The polls — a mix of council, mayoral and other local contests as well as a parliamentary by-election — are the last major ballot box test before a general election likely later this year.

Sunak’s ruling Tories, in power nationally since 2010 and defending hundreds of seats secured the last time these local elections were held in 2021, are tipped to suffer heavy losses.

Polls over the last two years also consistently show the Conservatives on course for defeat in the upcoming general election.

Voting began at 0600 GMT and ends at 2100 GMT, with results, including in the by-election for parliament in Blackpool South, expected to begin emerging from early Friday.

But many councils will only announce winners later in the day while key regional and London mayor races will not report results until over the weekend. The capital’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to win a record third term easily, but mayoral contests in the West Midlands and Tees Valley, in northeast England, are predicted to be tight.

A victory for the Labour opposition in either of the regions, home to bellwether constituencies, would be hailed as further evidence voters are ready to return the party to power nationally.

Khan, though, has faced criticism from opposition parties about his introduction of a daily charge for the most-polluting vehicles, and claims that he wants to introduce more road taxes in the capital.

Speculation is rife in the UK parliament at Westminster that a bad showing may lead some restive Tory lawmakers to try to replace Sunak, who has been in charge since October 2022.