Keir Starmer has now been Prime Minister for one year and 300 days, which puts him 43rd in the list of Britain’s longest-serving prime ministers. Whether he survives the seven weeks (otherwise known as ‘a single Truss’) he needs at the helm to overtake the Earl of Aberdeen will be shaped, in part, by the local election results next week.

Those who have spent much time on the doorstep will know that Starmer is personally political kryptonite for many voters

Those who have spent much time on the doorstep will know that Starmer is personally political kryptonite for many voters

MPs are in recess but as they pound the streets and bang on doors, they know these may be the most significant local elections for a generation. By next Friday, we will have much more idea what fate – and the electorate – has in store for our political class.

The pollsters are making their predictions, with peer Robert Hayward suggesting Labour could lose 1,850 council seats and the Tories 600, while Reform ( 1,550), the Greens ( 500), independents ( 250) and the Lib Dems ( 150) all take a step forward.

But there remain big questions for all the main parties. Here are the seven things to look out for:

Labour’s metropolitan high command is likely to have........

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