These elections serve as a significant test for Sunak's leadership before the anticipated general election later this year.

The Conservative Party, in power since 2010, is expected to lose approximately half of the council seats they are defending, according to pollsters.

Sunak aims to hold the general election in the second half of the year, but poor results in Thursday's votes could force him to bring the election forward.

Political scientist Richard Carr stated that these elections are crucial for assessing the effectiveness of Sunak's premiership and the level of voter confidence in his plan.

The political future of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak may depend on the outcome of the upcoming elections for Tory mayors in the West Midlands and Tees Valley regions.

A victory for Andy Street and Ben Houchen could boost Sunak's chances of turning around the Conservative Party's fortunes before the general election.

However, if they lose, some restless Conservative MPs may try to replace Sunak.

Factional infighting has been a persistent issue for the Tories in recent years, resulting in five prime ministers since the 2016 Brexit vote.

A group of Conservative MPs are reportedly preparing a "policy blitz" for a potential successor to Rishi Sunak if the Conservatives suffer massive losses in upcoming elections.

Some believe it's too soon to topple Sunak, who has provided stability since succeeding Liz Truss in October 2022.

Others think the party's credibility is already damaged, so a leadership change could be a last-ditch effort to prevent a predicted Labour landslide.

To trigger a vote to replace Sunak, 52 MPs would need to submit letters of no confidence.

Politics professor Richard Hayton expects Sunak to lead the Conservatives into the general election, but some MPs may attempt to remove him, further damaging his public standing.

Sunak became prime minister through an internal Tory appointment following Truss's disastrous 49-day tenure, during which unfunded tax cuts caused market instability and plummeted the pound.

The Conservative Party, led by Rishi Sunak, has been trailing the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, in opinion polls by double digits.

Sunak's satisfaction rating reached a record low of -59 percent in an Ipsos poll.

Over 2,500 council seats are up for re-election in England on Thursday, including London's Labour mayor Sadiq Khan seeking a third term.

These seats were last contested in 2021 when Boris Johnson was popular due to his Covid-19 vaccine rollout.