HOW quickly the tide can turn.

When Theresa May called the snap general election just six short weeks ago it seemed set in stone the Conservatives would not only hold onto Parliament, but most likely grab hold of a decent number of Labour seats.

But over the past month or so the party which seemed a dead cert to win one of the biggest election victories in recent memory seems to have descended into a bizarre desperation.

The bulk of the Conservatives’ campaign seems to have become pointing out things Jeremy Corbyn said 20 years ago. Hardly the behaviour of a party which is confident of a sweeping election victory.

And this isn’t just happening on a UK level.

At the start of the campaign journalists were already penning obituaries for Labour in Wales, with the Tories predicted to make some significant gains.

But since then something seems to have gone rather wrong.

The party reportedly had the two Newport seats in its sights at the start of the campaign, with pollsters predicting there was a very good chance both could turn blue on June 8.

And they were certainly putting the effort in, sending none other than party favourite Boris Johnson along to back candidate Angela Jones-Evans.

I understand some other party bigwigs were also pencilled in to visit the city at the end of last week, but the visits were cancelled after campaigning was put on hold following the Manchester attacks.

But since then it seems the party has forgotten about Newport, with local campaigners left to pick up the slack.

Indeed, it’s hard to to feel for local Tories, who are really putting the effort in on the ground, but with seemingly very little support.

The fact that the party put neither its boss in Wales Andrew RT Davies or Welsh secretary Alun Cairns up for last night’s live leader’s debate, which took place after today’s Argus went to press, speaks volumes.

Instead the party’s shadow education spokesman Darren Miller, a good speaker but hardly a household name in Wales, has been left to represent the party in what will be one of the biggest live events in Wales of this campaign.

Reportedly Mr Davies is on holiday, no doubt having booked the time away before the election was called.

But when other politicians and their staff, not to mention politics journalists, immediately cancelled planned holidays as soon as Mrs May called the election it seems more than a little odd Wales’ top Tory would think nothing of popping off for a little time in the sun at a time when his job couldn’t be more important.

But, let’s take a step back and look at what’s really going to happen next week.

Even the most ardent Labour supporter would find it hard to admit the chances of Jeremy Corbyn being prime minister next Friday are almost non-existent.

Realistically, we’re still going to have a Conservative government for the next five years, and there’s little risk of Mrs May having to get her suitcases out of storage.

But really, there must be some within the party who think they really should be doing a lot better at this stage.

Still, you know what they say about a week in politics.

* Staying with the Tories, I understand Newport’s branch of the party is already putting in plans for the next council election in 2021, and have put together a group of prospective candidates, including many who ran unsuccessfully this year, to work towards a campaign in four year’s time.

The party didn’t do as well as it had hoped earlier this month, increasing its seats on the council by two, but still falling a distant second to Labour.

So, simply in the interests of democracy in the city, its good to see they’re dusting themselves off and getting ready for another go.

* The funeral of ex-first minister Rhodri Morgan is being held in Cardiff this morning.

I’ll be there reporting live at southwalesargus.co.uk, and the event itself, which is being held at the Senedd, is also open to the public, so if you’d like to pop along make sure you’re at Cardiff Bay in good time before the planned start of the ceremony at 11am.

His committal at Thornhill Cemetery in Cardiff is being held tomorrow, Thursday, at 2pm, and is also open to the public, if you’d like a final opportunity to pay your respects.