UK PM Sunak faces first test of comeback credentials in local polls

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak talks to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during bilateral talks at 10 Downing Street in London, Thursday, April 27, 2023. Alberto Pezzali/Pool via REUTERS

SWINDON, England (Reuters) - Rishi Sunak faces his first big electoral test as British prime minister next week in local polls where the opposition Labour Party hopes to capitalise on a year of chaos for the governing Conservatives, ahead of a national election expected next year.

Sunak has tried to restore the credibility of the Conservative Party since coming to office in October, but he has struggled to draw a line under the turmoil that beset his predecessors despite breakthroughs on issues like Brexit.