Welsh elections 2022: Huge challenge for Tories, says Welsh deputy chair

Conservatives face a “major challenge” to restoring voter confidence, a top Welsh Tory leader has said.

Tomos Davies, a Welsh Conservative Deputy Leader and Monmouthshire Councilor, said the local elections in Wales had been “disastrous” for his party.

The Conservatives lost control of Monmouthshire Council and more than 80 councilors across Wales.

Labor was the big winner, Plaid gained control of three councils and the Lib Dems became the largest group in Powys.

The Greens celebrate winning the most seats they have ever had in Wales.

Mr Davies, newly elected as councillor, told BBC Wales he was upset with parties being held in Downing Street during lockdown “appearing on the doorstep from time to time”.

“Clearly, as a party, there is a major challenge in restoring that confidence to Welsh and British voters.”

He said he has “complete faith” in Boris Johnson’s leadership but “Boris as well as the whole Government and indeed the Welsh Conservative Party needs to take that extra step and really show that we understand the pain and anger many voters are experiencing.” , while pressure on the cost of living continues to mount.

Mr Davies added that the Prime Minister should use the Queen’s speech on Tuesday, in which the UK Government outlines its political agenda for next year, to be “bold and ambitious” so that he “restores that confidence with voters.” “ could.

Welsh Minister Simon Hart, who sits in Mr Johnson’s cabinet, said voters had given the Conservatives in Wales “a pretty solid talk”.

Mr Hart said Boris Johnson would agree that this is “instruction we can do better”.

“I think if you were to speak to Boris yourself he would say pretty much exactly this: ‘Okay, we’ve been pretty firmly addressed by the Welsh voters today’.

“It’s tantamount to a violent tick off and an instruction that we can do better.”

Peter Fox, the Conservative Senedd member for Monmouth, said the vote in the Monmouthshire general election showed that “democracy has spoken and you must carry on”.

“It was difficult after controlling this council for so long that we lost seven seats.

“And to stop being the biggest party in Monmouthshire was a huge blow,” he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

Labor made gains and gained control of Blaenau Gwent and Bridgend but they suffered a setback at Neath Port Talbot which did not escape general control.

Labour’s Welsh shadow secretary Jo Stevens said there would be “obviously some sort of post-mortem”.

“As I understand it, there was a certain type of hyper-local issues that caused us to lose some seats to independent candidates and we’re obviously going to look at that,” she told the program.

Plans to close three English-language primary schools and build a new ‘super school’ in the Swansea Valley, which were halted last summer, have been blamed for Labour’s disappointment there.

Former Wrexham Labor MP Ian Lucas said the party did “pretty well” in local elections, “but they have to do better”.

“I think the enthusiasm that needs to be there to win the next general election on the doorstep isn’t there in my opinion, but I think it can be,” he told Times Radio on Saturday.

He advised Labor to “be realistic about this and focus on being much more positive with voters”.

The party must “paint a picture of what the next Labor government is going to be and how it is actually going to impact and advance people’s individual lives and improve their lives,” he said.

“We’re a very fragmented society right now and I think creating a sense of unity within the country is a goal that we need to focus really hard on.”

Plaid Cymru tightened its grip on the councils they already governed, winning majorities in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Anglesey and holding Gwynedd.

Overall, however, the party lost only a few seats.

Vale of Glamorgan’s final statement came late Friday night after a recount in one district, despite Labor having already overtaken the Conservatives as the largest party there.

Labor now has 25 seats, three seats short of a majority, with the Conservatives having 13 councillors, and Plaid Cymru eight.

Independents and the Llantwit Independents each secured four seats, meaning the council remains under no general scrutiny.

Labor says it will now seek to work with other, likely independent, councillors, to form the next government.

Labor remains the largest group in Flintshire Council, but has just one seat more than the Independents.

It was the last local authority in Wales to announce its final findings.

Labor took both seats at Buckley Bistre West, one of two wards reported on Saturday morning.

Independents took both seats in the other district, Connah’s Quay South.

That means Labor has 31 seats and the Independents have 30 seats, both of which lack a majority in the 67-seat County House and are trying to form an administration.

Labor Councilor Sean Bibby, representing Shotton West, told BBC Wales: “In terms of seats it’s very close between us and the Independents so we’ll see what happens next.”

Labor faced a strong challenge in the Connah’s Quay area, where Independents led by former Labor Councilor Bernie Attridge made big gains.

Mr Attridge said he believed an independent government could be formed through talks with the four elected Liberal Democrats and two Conservative members.

“I’m confident we can negotiate a deal over the weekend for an independent administration to run County Hall,” he said, adding that people are “tired of one-party rule.”

Meanwhile, Green Party activists celebrate winning eight council seats across Wales.

In the previous poll in 2017 they managed to elect only one councilor in Powys, who later defected to Plaid Cymru.

The Greens now have two councilors in Denbighshire and one elected member in Conwy, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Monmouthshire, Powys and Swansea.