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Wales Online
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
Kemi Badenoch's message to Welsh Tory voters deserting her party for Reform UK
Kemi Badenoch's message to Welsh Tory voters deserting her party for Reform UK The Conservative leader is reportedly devosceptic so we asked for her views Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (Image: PA ) Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said Welsh voters deserting her party for Reform UK should support her party as they are the only ones with a "credible plan" to "fix Wales". Speaking of Reform she said: "This is not the time for us to take risks with people who have yet more slogans." Her party lost all of its MPs in Wales the general election in 2024 and the most recent YouGov/Barn Cymru poll for Wales showed the party would go from the official opposition, as it is now, to the fourth-placed party after the Senedd election in May 2026 with just 13% of the vote share. If the figures were replicated in the actual Senedd election next May the Conservatives would have nine seats and be in fourth place behind Reform's 30 seats, Labour's 19, and Plaid Cymru's 35. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here. The Conservative leader was in Wales for the party's Welsh Conservative conference, which is taking place in Llangollen. Election experts say they have seen Conservative voters in Wales deserting the party in favour of Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Asked what she would say to those voters Ms Badenoch said: "We are working to rebuild our trust with you. We've acknowledged the mistakes that we made when we were in government. "The party is now under new leadership – I was not leading the party during that period. I want to talk about the future and the offer we have now for the future because what we're seeing is a Labour government, both nationally and in Wales, that's running the country into the ground. "This is not the time for us to take risks with people who have yet more slogans. This is the time to put trust in those of us, the Conservatives that is, who have incredible plans for Wales." Article continues below During her leader election there were reports she opposed devolved politics and had said she was "devolution-sceptic" and "we can't just accept devolution' and that 'we need to talk about rolling it back". You can read the limited takes we have from her on devolution here. Asked her position on devolution she failed to answer. "My view is that devolution is a process. We need to start talking about the people we're electing. You can have lots of devolution or no devolution. If you have bad people or incompetent people running things it's not going to work. "We keep talking about devolution as if it's a solution in and of itself rather than a process. We need to stop talking about the process of politics [and] start getting better politicians. Labour politicians have not run this country well. People need change. "That change has to be Conservative because we're the only ones with a credible plan. All of the talk about what happens in 1997 and so on. We are here now nearly 30 years later – are things better or not? They are not better. So let's make them better." Asked again her position in 1997 she said: "I was 17 in 1997. I wasn't even old enough to vote. I don't want to be talking about stuff from 30 years ago. "I was doing my A-levels – I wasn't interested in devolution". Asked her position now, she said: "My position is that we have a Senedd and people running it who are not running it properly. Let's vote Conservative and get people who know what they're doing in charge." Quoting the party's new slogan, "Fix Wales", she vowed to get Conservative MPs back representing Wales. "We know that we've just come out of a historic defeat. We lost all of our MPs. We're going to get them back. We're not going to get them back just by talking about politics. We're going to show how we deliver and improve people's lives." She accepted any electoral comeback was a big ask but said: "We are working to rebuild trust with the public and we're going to do that by being honest with them and telling the truth. All the other parties are telling people what they want to hear because they're trying to help themselves. "We are telling the people the truth so that we can actually get this country back on track. "At the conference I've been speaking to lots of charities, lots of organisations, lots of businesses. Education is not going well in Wales. Health is not going well in Wales. Early diagnostics, early screenings not happening despite all the money that Labour has been getting from the centre. Article continues below "Someone has to do better than that and we are the only credible party with a plan. All the other parties are just playing the politics of identity. We are the ones, whether it's Plaid or Reform, we are the ones who are actually coming up with a proper plan to fix Wales."
The National
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Kemi Badenoch mocked for basic Scotland-Wales gaffe
CAN someone please help Kemi Badenoch. The Tory leader is having a hard enough time of it watching her party haemorrhage voters and members to Nigel Farage's hard-right Reform UK, let alone the reputational damage she's suffering from her dismal performances at Prime Minister's Questions. Now, it seems Badenoch is confused even about where she is. For clarity: the Tory leader is in Wales for the Welsh Conservative conference this Friday. Maybe one of her aides could let her know. Because somewhere on the way to Llangollen, Badenoch got a bit turned around. Speaking to the Welsh Tory conference in the Welsh town, Badenoch said it had been 'wonderful to meet so many MSPs'. Except, as keen-eyed readers will know, MSP stands for Member of the Scottish Parliament … Badenoch almost certainly meant to say she had met Members of the Senedd – the Welsh Parliament. But who can tell the devolved nations apart anyway. Welsh journalist Will Hayward shared the gaffe on Bluesky, leading one user to say: 'Obviously the catastrophic sequence of Johnson, Truss and Sunak is responsible for the (very pleasing) destruction of the modern Tory party, but it'll always be hilarious that they chose Badenoch to oversee their funeral and postmortem.' A second added: 'Making a run for 'worst leader of a political party', but still a long way to go to match Starmer's performance this week.' And a third quipped in response: 'But she doesn't make gaffes …' (Image: BBC) The reference is to Badenoch's increasingly infamous claim, made more than once, that she has 'never' had a gaffe and does not make them …
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Conservatives pledge to drive down Welsh NHS waits
A promise to bring down waits for NHS treatment to no more than 12 months will be among Welsh Conservative pledges at next May's Senedd election. Reinstating home economics to the curriculum is also being trailed, with Senedd leader Darren Millar saying its 2026 manifesto would be its "boldest and most ambitious". A public inquiry into north Wales' troubled Betsi Cadwaladr health board, ban on mobile phones in schools and the introduction of a Welsh winter fuel allowance for pensioners is also included in a series of policy announcements to be made. The two-day conference, in Llangollen, begins on Friday. The Conservatives say a school mobile phone ban would be implemented using strict guidance and, potentially, making funding conditional on following it. There will be a plan to boost staffing at GP surgeries, the party says, and a target to make all GP appointments available within seven working days. Health board not learning from preventable deaths Who is Darren Millar, new Senedd Tory leader? Darren Millar elected Welsh Tory leader unopposed Other pledges include reversing next year's expansion of the Welsh Parliament to 96 members, meaning voters electing 60 members in 2030, as they did in 2021. Tory Welsh ministers would also return the controversial 20mph default speed limit to 30mph, keeping to 20mph near schools and hospitals, and "deliver an M4 relief road". Welsh Labour ministers scrapped proposals six years ago, then estimated to cost £1.6bn, for the 14-mile motorway relief road around Newport because of its cost and impact on the environment. The education policies include automatically excluding pupils bringing knives into schools. No costings have been provided. Millar said: "My team and I will present a comprehensive, fully-funded set of policy commitments to fix Wales ahead of the Senedd election." "The Welsh Conservative 2026 manifesto will be the boldest and most ambitious in our history. "The Welsh Conservatives are working tirelessly to hold Labour to account, while other parties like Plaid Cymru have routinely propped them up. "We now stand ready to offer the only credible alternative Welsh government." Labour has led the Welsh government since powers were transferred from Westminster to Cardiff Bay in 1999, either on its own or in partnership with Plaid Cymru or the Liberal Democrats. Polls suggest Reform is a serious contender to be the biggest party next May, but in an interview with BBC Wales ahead of the conference Millar predicted they would "melt under any kind of reasonable scrutiny of their policies - when they do bring them forward - because they do not appear to have any". The pledge that no patient would wait more than 12 months for treatment is ambitious. According to the latest statistics, in February there were 15,505 cases where somebody had waited more than two years, a reduction of more of more than 26% on the January figure. The Conservatives have already announced plans to take 1p off the basic rate of income tax through "efficiency measures" in government but "protecting health, schools and farming". All road projects will be "unfrozen" and no new cycle lanes will be built until "roads are fixed". Millar will give his main speech to the conference on Saturday, his first to a conference since becoming Tory Senedd leader just over five months ago. Meanwhile the shadow Welsh Secretary Mims Davies has reiterated calls for a public inquiry into preventable deaths at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. In 2024 it was reported that 27 prevention of future death reports in just over a year were issued to the health board by coroners, more than any other health board received. Ms Davies called for Westminster to hold the inquiry. "The UK Labour government is clearly failing in its duty by not holding this crucial inquiry and listening to families and those who have lost loved ones," she said. Calling her "invisible", she said the Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens "needs to put political allegiance to one side and finally listen and act to deliver for the people of Wales". "It is imperative the families of the victims of this scandal obtain justice." The previous Conservative Welsh Secretary David TC Davies had called for an inquiry into preventable deaths at the north Wales board. In January, Mims Davies urged current Labour Welsh secretary Jo Stevens to "push" the Welsh government to hold an inquiry. Additional reporting by David Deans No chance we're scrapping Senedd, says top Tory The man who thinks he could be the next first minister Farage rules out standing in Senedd election
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tories want apology over Jo Stevens Budget tweet
The Welsh secretary should apologise for "politicising" civil servants in a post about the UK government's Budget on the Wales Office's X account, say the Conservatives. They complained to the cabinet secretary – the top civil servant at Westminster – after Jo Stevens' post said the Budget "delivered for Wales for the first time in a generation". The chief executive of the UK Government Communication Service agreed the post "could have been phrased better" and said he had spoken to the Wales Office. The Wales Office said the matter was discussed with its director to "ensure continued compliance with guidelines". Tories demand apology over Welsh secretary video Labour demand formal probe over Welsh Tory video Official resources should not be used for party political purposes, under the Civil Service Code. In her letter to the cabinet secretary, Conservative shadow secretary of state for Wales Mims Davies said: "I am sure you will agree we simply cannot have taxpayer-funded resources being misappropriated on these types of messages and your civil servants being actively political inside departments, and perhaps under pressure to message this way." She went on to ask for what was being done to investigate the secretary of state and her officials. In reply, Simon Baugh, chief executive of the Government Communication Service said: "In this particular case, while the text of the post echoed a short section of a HM Treasury press release, I acknowledge that it could have been better phrased, and I have discussed the matter with the Wales Office." In a statement following the exchange of letters Davies said: "We now need the secretary of state for Wales to step up and apologise for this conduct in politicising our impartial civil servants." This is not the first time that Conservatives have clashed with Jo Stevens over the use of social media. In October last year Davies's predecessor, Byron Davies, complained about a different social media post on the Wales Office account, which he said broke civil service code, and brought the government department into disrepute. The Wales Office said it had done "nothing improper in expressing regret about the previous administration". Earlier in the year, Stevens called for a formal investigation into the then Welsh Secretary David TC Davies and accused him of breaching rules of behaviour for ministers. She said he had recorded a video attacking plans to increase the size of the Senedd in his government office. The ministerial code says they should not generally be used for party or constituency activities. At the time a UK government source said that the video was recorded inside for security reasons. A Wales Office spokesperson said the government department "follows guidance set out by the Government Communication Service and mandatory training is undertaken on the use of social media on official government channels". "The post in question highlighted how the UK government is investing in Wales. "This matter has been discussed with the Wales Office director to ensure continued compliance with guidelines."
