Theresa May faces Welsh Conservatives after massive local election losses

The Welsh Conservatives held the first day of their spring conference in Llangollen on Friday, with the prime minister giving a keynote speech.

This came the day after voters in England and Northern Ireland went to the polls in council elections – with both the Conservatives and Labour suffering massive losses.

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And Mrs May was immediately met with a heckler when she took to the stage, with a party member standing up and shouting comments including "why don't you resign?" and "we don't want you".

The man, later identified as former county councillor Stuart Davies, was met with boos and jeers of "off, off, off" from other members and was ushered out by staff at Llangollen Pavilion.

Theresa May is heckled by Tory party member and former county councillor Stuart Davies. Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

After he was ushered out of the auditorium, the prime minister joked: "My experience of north Wales is everyone is friendly.”

Speaking to the Press Association afterwards, Mr Davies, 71, said: "I am furious at what she has done to our party. To put it bluntly, she is telling lies - 'We will be out by March 29'.

"I think I share the views of a lot of people who are party members. I did what I did because I know it was the right thing to do."

In her speech the prime minister did not shy away from addressing the bruising local election results, saying the outcome was “very difficult” and many councillors had “lost through no fault of their own”.

“This is a difficult time for our party and these election results are a symptom of that,” she said.

Theresa May speaking at the Welsh Conservative conference. Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

But she said the result served as a message that voters “just want us to get on with it” on Brexit, and that leaving with a deal was now “the only possible outcome”.

“We need a Brexit that works for the whole United Kingdom,“ she said. “And our deal does.

“Parliament has made it clear it will do everything in its power to stop a no-deal Brexit from happening so if we want to deliver Brexit we have to agree a deal.”

Closing, she said: “It’s our job not only to deliver Brexit for our country, but to deliver our country from the disaster of a Labour Government.

“If we pull together we can succeed, and if we pull together we will succeed.”

Speaking afterwards the prime minister said the election was “always going to be difficult for us.”

“Yes, there were challenging results,” she said. “But it’s not just challenging for the Conservative Party – Labour had a bad night too. The message from people is that we should get on and deliver Brexit.”

Theresa May speaking at the Welsh Conservative conference. Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

And on the M4 relief road she said it was “about time” a decision is made. Earlier this week first minister Mark Drakeford announced he would make a decision on the scheme in the first week of June.

“I’m urging him to get on with it,” she said.

“It’s something people have been waiting for for a long time. People are, I think, really frustrated that he has not made this decision.”

And she said the party has two main jobs.

“One is ensuring we deliver on Brexit and delivering on that,” she said.

“The other is ensuring we keep a Conservative government that is keeping a strong economy for this country, because, when you talk about funding for public services and councils, it’s only possible to ensure you have that funding by having a strong economy.

“Jeremy Corbyn’s policy on the economy would see capital flight, with £100 billion extra of borrowing. That would be a real millstone around people’s necks that would lead to fewer jobs.”

Labour’s record on education and the NHS were common themes on the first day of the conference, the first since Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Paul Davies was elected as the party’s new Assembly group leader in September 2018.

Paul Davies

In his speech Mr Davies said a Conservative-led Welsh Government would introduce no new taxes, and cut rates where possible.

“We believe in hope and aspiration, these are the values which bond us together,” he said.

Saying a vote for the Welsh Conservatives was “a vote for hope”, he added: “It is not devolution that has failed Wales, it is Welsh Labour that has failed devolution.

“We need more Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly.

“Our values are, I believe the values of people up and down this country”

Closing his speech, he said: “Together we can make a Wales that is united, stronger where everyone has an opportunity to achieve more than they thought possible.”

Others to speak on the first day of the conference were Welsh secretary Alun Cairns, who opened by paying tribute to late Labour MP for Newport West Paul Flynn, saying he had served with “genuine grace, ability and charm”, as well as Plaid Cymru South Wales East AM Steffan Lewis, who died in January, who he said would have been “a future leader of Plaid Cymru”.

And he said scrapping tolls on the two Severn bridges “closes the gap between London and Cardiff, Wales and England, and binds our community closer together.”

Other speakers included former leader Andrew RT Davies, who was given a warm reception, and UK Government Brexit secretary James Cleverly, who was among those who brought up last month’s Newport West by-election, in which Conservative candidate Cllr Matthew Evans came second with a respectable 31.3 per cent of the vote.

Mr Cleverly paid tribute to Cllr Evans, saying: “He took a positive message to the doorsteps as we Conservatives should always do. He campaigned on a personal record of delivery and it worked.

“He showed with a better national picture we can win in Newport West.

“I believe we will sit together on Westminster’s green benches after the next General Election.”

The prime minister also applauded Cllr Evans, calling the result “no mean feat for a party nine years into government”, and Mr Cairns said the candidate had been “excellent”.

The conference continues today, Saturday.