Welsh Conservatives have criticised the UK party after a disastrous set of council elections in Wales. Elections were held in all of Wales' 22 council areas on Thursday, May 4, with counting taking place the following day. You can see all the results from Wales here.
The Conservatives had a disastrous night, losing control of the sole council it had control of in Wales. The party's worst fears were realised as they lost seats all across Wales with trust in the Prime Minister and the cost of living crisis both quoted as the biggest reasons for the move away from the party by voters. The party took back control of Monmouthshire in 2017 and had overall control with 25 councillors, that number dropped to 18, a dramatic drop, but it is the fact Labour did so well that will particularly hurt. Labour won 10 seats in 2017 but gained 12 more this election. Speaking after the result Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford said that was beyond the party's dreams going into election day. He said partygate came up on the doorsteps, but it was mainly the cost of living crisis which voters spoke of. You can see his comments here.
There were losses all across Wales. In Bridgend, the Conservatives went from 11 councillors elected five years ago to just one. In Torfaen, the party lost all four of its councillors. In Denbighshire, the Tories were the largest party and ran the council in coalition to being the fourth biggest party. In Conwy, they lost five councillors compared to 2017. They also lost ground in Powys, an area which is always interesting at Senedd and Westminster level, and Newport where they lost six seats.
