BY-ELECTIONS threaten to cause misery for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this week, as the Tories battle to save their seats in three crunch local polls, experts predicted yesterday.

Labour and the Lib Dems are both hoping to inflict blows to the government in Thursday’s by-elections in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Selby and Ainsty as well as Somerton and Frome.

The Uxbridge and Selby polls were triggered amid the fallout from former PM Boris Johnson’s reaction to the privileges committee investigation and the row over his resignation honours list.