Deluded minister confronted with Tory anger over election drubbing in TV clash
A deluded minister was confronted with angry Tory councillors savaging the Government after their local election drubbing - with one saying voters think they're not "on their side".
The Conservatives lost more than 1,000 seats on a catastrophic night for Rishi Sunak, losing control of 48 local authorities and seeing 1,058 politicians cast out.
But Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer brazenly claimed things had improved for the Conservatives despite the results.
Appearing on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Ms Frazer was shown clips of furious local councillors blaming the Government for the results.
In a blistering assessment of the results, Tory councillor Virge Richichi, of North West Leicestershire Council, said: "We've done a good job, we're looking after our electorate...
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"We're really trying to look after everyone in our district but unfortunately at the national level we've let people down."
Adam Stokes, former deputy leader of South Kesteven District Council, raged: "It was all to do with Government issues.
Lucy Frazer claimed that Tory fortunes improved during the campaign"Locally we were getting very positive feedback, but people have concerns about the cost of living... They feel like the Government isn't actually on their side, and I'm saying that as a Conservative."
And David Renard, ousted leader of Swindon Borough Council, raged: "The Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the rest of the Government need to bring out a positive agenda that people are prepared to support."
Ms Frazer said: "We absolutely need to reflect. Rishi has only been Prime Minister for six months."
And she continued: "I must say having knocked on doors throughout the campaign we've seen a change in the mood of the British people.
"It was very different at the beginning of the campaign but they're slowly starting to give the Government and Rishi credit."
But she conceded: "We need to do more, we need to deliver and we are delivering."
But the Tory frontbencher said: "I did see a shift in the course of my campaign, people are thinking we're listening to them, but I'm not going to pretend there isn't more to do."
More than 1,000 Tory councillors were ousted in a difficult election for Rishi Sunak (Getty Images)Meanwhile Labour's Wes Streeting said his party is "not entertaining" the prospect of coalition, but did not rule it out when challenged.
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Asked on Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday whether Labour would be prepared to go into coalition with the Lib Dems, the shadow health secretary said: "We're not even entertaining that prospect ... I just don't think that is the scenario that we are going to be in after the next general election."
Asked a third time about local election results pointing towards a hung Parliament, he said: "This is a process, not an event. We're not at the final destination yet in terms of the general election."
Put to him that he was not ruling it out, he gave examples of of why "we shouldn't read the local elections right across".
He said: "Take Hull, where I saw through gritted teeth the Liberal Democrats did rather well. I heard the Lib Dem leader of Hull council the other night saying 'well, look, locally, people have voted Lib Dem but at the general election people in this city vote Labour'."
He added: "We're not complacent about this and there's so much more still to come."
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