Rishi Sunak urges his MPs to present unified front before local elections

Prime minister held key meeting with backbenchers, who are worried he is leading them to catastrophic defeat in May

Rishi Sunak has sought to unify his fractious party ahead of what could be a brutal set of local elections, urging his MPs to ignore dissenting voices and present a coherent front.

The prime minister’s address to the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers gave the appearance of agreement, with much of the traditional banging of desks and no public criticism, although some attenders doubted how genuine it all was.