Mystery as No10 and Tories refuse to say the place, when or how Rishi Sunak voted

Rishi Sunak’s vote in the local elections remains shrouded in mystery after both No10 and the Conservative Party refused to give any details about how he voted.

A Conservative Party spokesman insisted the Prime Minister “has voted”, but declined to say where he voted, or at what time – or even whether he voted in person or by postal vote. A Labour source said: “Is the Conservative candidate so toxic that even their own leader doesn’t want to admit he voted for her?”

If Mr Sunak is registered to vote in London, he would presumably be casting a vote for Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall. In his constituency of Richmond in Yorkshire, he’d be voting for Tory mayoral candidate Keane Duncan, whose main tentpole policy is spending taxpayers money buying a hotel in Scarborough.

It’s extremely unusual for details of the Prime Minister – or indeed any party leader – to be kept under wraps. Party leaders generally brief the media on which polling station they’re going to attend, inviting them to send photographers to catch a glimpse of them on their way out.

Yesterday, reporters asked Downing Street for details of Mr Sunak’s plans during a briefing after Prime Minister’s Questions, and were told details would be communicated later. They never arrived. This morning Mr Sunak appeared on the campaign trail in London, delivering leaflets alongside Tory MP Greg Hands.

Earlier in the day, Mr Sunak’s predecessor Boris Johnson was turned away from a polling station for failing to bring acceptable Voter ID with him. Mr Johnson, whose government rammed through laws requiring photo ID to vote despite no evidence of in person voter fraud actually taking place in the UK, instead turned up with a letter showing his name and address.