‘We are the party of change’ promises to lead Welsh Conservatives after collapse in 2024

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies says his is the party of change, not Labor.

The lack of seats in the House of Commons in the general election was a “kick in the gut”, Davies told the AP news agency, but said the Conservatives “can make a difference in 2026”. at the next Senedd poll in Wales.

The MS accused the Labor Party – which earlier this year titled its national election manifesto “Change” – of presiding over a “managed collapse” in Cardiff Bay.

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Davies said: “Well, I hope that at the conference today we will all reflect on how we felt on July 5 – that kick in the gut and how brutal it was.

“And we have to apologize to the centre-right voter who looked at us and felt they couldn’t vote for us, and unfortunately we don’t have any MPs in Wales.

“But if we had Welsh MPs and a Conservative government in Westminster, the 400,000 pensioner households who are losing their winter fuel allowance this winter would not lose it because we have a provision in our manifesto not to take it away.”

The Westminster Government announced plans in July to scale back the previously universal winter fuel subsidy scheme, with funding of up to £300 only available to certain benefit claimants this year.

Labor Chancellor Rachel Reeves has described a £22 billion “black hole” in public finances made up of the previous Conservative government’s spending commitments.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall told her party’s conference in Liverpool last Wednesday: “This Labor government has done more to help the poorest pensioners in the last two months than the Tories have done in 14 years – representing the biggest-ever campaign to increase credit uptake pensions, underpinned by our commitment to the triple lock of pensions.”

However, according to the Welsh Conservatives, the new arrangements will deprive the Welsh economy of £110 million.

“When the Welsh Conservatives speak for Wales in Westminster, catastrophic decisions like withdrawing the winter fuel allowance are not being made,” Davies said.

Asked why his party failed to win a single seat in Wales, he replied: “Well, we have to be held to account.

“When we make commitments, we fulfill them. Immigration is a good moment because many people came back to us and said, “When David Cameron became Prime Minister in 2010, you said you would cut immigration to the tens of thousands.”

“Unfortunately, we know this is not the case. And we must apologize for not doing so.”

Davies said the previous government’s plan to send some of the asylum seekers arriving in small boats to Rwanda in Africa would be an “effective deterrent.”

About his leadership position, he said: “Well, leadership is always open to challenge and it is entirely up to each member whether they want to throw their hat into the ring.

“I’m never afraid of challenges.”

He continued: “On the basis of what we have achieved as leader of the Senedd – the largest opposition group with the most diverse composition, both in terms of youth and ethnicity – I think we have a huge opportunity to show the people of Wales that we are a party that could make a difference in 2026.

“I am the person who can do this because I have a huge appetite for Wales to be at the top of the league table, not the managed decline that Labor, Plaid and the Liberals have caused for 25 years.”

Davies said: “We are the party of change and we will make that change happen.”