Less than a fortnight ago, nearly a 1,000 people rallied in Whitchurch Commons under red banners to cheer at the fiery speeches of both Jeremy Corbyn and First Minister Carwyn Jones.
On the morning after local elections, however, the commons is quiet as Welsh conservatives have picked up all four council seats in Whitchurch. Mike Jones-Pritchard gained a seat with an 10 per cent margin over Labour opponents, while his fellow Welsh Conservatives Linda Morgan, Tim Davies and Mike Phillips all secured seats with 11 per cent victory margins.
Government electoral figures reflect Labour’s lessening grip over the locale from 1995 to 2012, where Conservatives have continued to chip away at Labour after the election of MP Craig Williams, now in his seventh year. Labour’s Julie Morgan, however, still holds the Welsh Assembly seat.
In a party release, Welsh Conservative Leader Andrew Davies said “The result shows that people are moving away from Labour and rejecting their tired and out-of-touch message. For far too long Labour has been taking the public’s support for granted.”
Turnout rate in the local authority rose to 55.6 per cent compared to the running average for the district of 45.4 percent.
Davies added that the Conservatives are “emboldened by the results that have come in, but take nothing for granted as there are still nine councils yet to declare. There is also still a general election to fight, and we now need to dig deep and press on with the job of ensuring that we have a Prime Minister on 8 June.”
The Conservative victory now leaves council leader Phil Bale in an uncertain position. Welsh Labour party officials declined to comment at the time of publication, although the BBC reports a meeting of party leaders is scheduled for Friday.
