General election campaigning under way in Wales

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has attacked the Welsh government over speed limits and waiting times, on the first full day of general election campaigning.

Speaking at a brewery in Barry, he accused Labour of pursuing a “war on motorists” and said Welsh patients were being let down by the state of the Welsh NHS.

He was mocked by a senior Labour MP, however, after he asked whether people were looking forward to a football tournament that Wales had not qualified for.

Earlier, First Minister Vaughan Gething said ensuring Labour governments are at either end of the M4 “can transform Wales and transform Britain”.

Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said his party will be “shouting for Wales”.

The Welsh government runs health, education, councils, transport policy and agriculture, among other matters.

It is made up of Labour Members of the Senedd (MSs) who are not up for election this year.

Mr Sunak, who was joined at the brewery by Welsh Secretary David TC Davies and Vale of Glamorgan MP Alun Cairns, was shown brewing processes on the second stop of his tour of the UK’s four nations.

The prime minister, who does not drink alcohol, said it was “part of a proper industry that we’re keen to support”.

Speaking to BBC Wales, Mr Sunak accused the Welsh government of pursuing a “war on motorists with top-down blanket 20mph speed limits”.

Mr Sunak said small businesses owners were facing “thousands of pounds of higher tax bills” as a result of changes to business rates.

“The Welsh NHS, run by the Labour government, is the worst performing in Great Britain – waiting times the longest, emergency times the worst.

“That’s the reality of Labour in Wales.”

The Welsh government objects to the term blanket – saying it is an incorrect way to describe a default speed limit limit which applies in most residential areas which were previously 30mph.

Earlier in the visit Mr Sunak was met with a moment of silence when he asked if the European football championships would be a source of revenue: “So, you’re looking forward to all the football?”

Wales did not qualify for the tournament.

Labour’s shadow Welsh Secretary, Jo Stevens, said on X it was “another own goal for Rishi”.

First Minister Vaughan Gething told a conference in Llandudno on Thursday morning: “Today is a day where we can finally feel the end to fourteen years of this UK Tory government. An end to fourteen years of decline, fourteen years of neglect.

“Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak. It is finally time to turn the page on those vandals. We know there is another future we can chart.

“We know the difference that a Labour government makes, and we know that two Labour governments at either end of the M4 can transform Wales and transform Britain.”

By Gareth Lewis, BBC Wales political editor

After it rained on his parade yesterday Rishi Sunak at least appeared to avoid any puns about his organisational skills after a visit to a brewery – brief faux pas about the football aside.

The trip to Barry on day one of the campaign was no surprise – it is in the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the Conservative seats most at risk.

Also of no surprise was the attack line – what he sees as the Welsh Labour government’s track record here.

But that is not without risk. How much will voters take into account things like 20mph and the NHS – both Welsh government responsibilities – when they’re voting in a UK general election?

And it also assumes some voters are willing to overlook what they might see as big issues with the Conservative record at UK level over the past 14 years.

The election is the first since a major boundary review, which will cut the number of MPs in Wales from 40 to 32.

All seats will see their boundaries change, with the exception of Ynys Môn.

Welsh Labour will be hoping to expand their dominance in Wales, while the Conservatives will defend the ground they won in 2019.

At the last election Welsh Labour won 22 seats – still the largest party despite the performance of the Conservatives.

Plaid Cymru’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “Only a vote for Plaid Cymru will put Wales’ best interests first in this election.

“The Tories have crashed the economy and hard-working people are still paying the price of high bills. Labour, on the other hand, just take Wales for granted,” he said.

Speaking on Dros Frecwast, Jane Dodds, leader of the Liberal Democrats in Wales, said they will be “campaigning hard”.

“Most of the people who have voted for the Conservatives will not want to give their vote this time to Labour, so we have an opportunity to talk to them and ensure that we are their choice,” she said.

Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said they plan to stand a candidate in every constituency.

“If we manage to do that it will be the first time we have done that in the party’s history.

“We’re prioritising that because we want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote Green,” she said.