Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has used his speech at the Welsh Conservative Party conference to attack the Welsh Government and suggested he did not want to devolve more powers.
Mr Sunak said that it was a "scary thought" that Keir Starmer wanted to use Welsh Labour's governance of Wales as a blueprint for if he got into Downing Street. Speaking to a half empty conference hall at the ICC in Newport the Prime Minister said that the "people of Wales don't want to be a guinea pig in Labour's socialist experiment".
He said: "The people of Wales don't want to be guinea pigs for Labour's socialist agenda. Rather, they want a government that will deliver on their priorities - and that is what we will do. My priorities are your priorities. They are to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats. These are the people's priorities right across the UK, whether you live in Newcastle or here in Newport.
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In his speech he also defended the Union saying that the "best place for Wales is at the heart of our own precious Union". He said that he would directly get involved more in affairs in Wales and that people "don't want us focussed on constitutional reform" and that the UK Government needed to "move away from devolve and forget".
The Prime Minister refused to answer any questions from Welsh journalists despite repeated requests for him to front up to questions. Earlier in the day his officials had tried to handpick the journalists that would be allowed to ask questions in Scotland leading to an embarrassing U-turn after reporters from other papers simply walked in to the press conference.
Mr Sunak also spoke of his pride at rejecting the Welsh Government's call to be allowed to include asylum seekers in the basic income trial. He said it was "an appalling idea" that would "encourage more people to come".
He said that direct intervention was needed because "just as Westminster doesn't know best, Cardiff Bay doesn't knows best". This was received warmly by the audience. He did attempt to offer a small olive branch to the Welsh Government by saying that they "need to work with together" where possible".
During the speech he highlighted the recent delivery of two new Freeports in Wales, which are expected to create up to 20,000 jobs and billions of pounds of investment. He said Welsh communities had benefited from more than £1 billion in direct investment through programmes including the Shared Prosperity Fund, Levelling Up Fund and Community Renewal Fund.
He also noted that nearly half a million people in Wales will receive a £301 cost-of-living payment from the UK Government this week. He criticised the Welsh Government on its record on the NHS, schools and roads and called on devolved nations to stop focusing on "constitutional abstractions" and to work together to tackle the immediate challenges that people face.
Mr Sunak said: "Keir Starmer calls Wales a Labour blueprint for the rest of the country - that's a scary thought. Delivering for Wales is at the heart of my plans. Extracting investment, growing trade and most important creating jobs - that's the type of future that we want to build, a future that is filled with opportunities, optimism, with confidence that all young people look forward to brighter and better times.
"The UK Government is standing behind the people of Wales and we have demonstrated the best place for Wales is at the heart of our precious United Kingdom. As your leader we will never forget we are a conservative and unionist party and working together ... we're going to deliver in each and every part of our precious UK."
The PM was introduced by Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies who said that Brexit had "delivered as promised" and the economy was "doing fine" despite some pretty dismal economic data. Sunak thanked both Mr Davies and Welsh MP and chief whip Simon Hart saying "not since a Tudor king have so many Welsh" been at the heart of government.
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