Limit Labour to five years in power, says minister
Fay Jones says voters are criticising both the Conservatives and Welsh Labour
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A Conservative minister has said the polls point to the "terrifying prospect" of a Labour win on Thursday, but she hopes her party can deny Sir Keir Starmer a "super majority".
Wales Office minister Fay Jones told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast "let's limit it to five years and hopefully hold them to doing not too much damage", with some in her party believing that a big Labour win could keep it in power for a decade.
Former Labour Welsh secretary and ex-Neath MP Lord Hain said his party will win the general election, but he does not detect the same "enthusiasm for Labour" as there was when Tony Blair led the party back into government in 1997.
Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake said Labour could have "a handsome majority" but Plaid will "ensure" that Wales' interests are "not forgotten".
- Published2 July
- Published2 July
- Published1 July
Polling suggests Labour continues to enjoy the same 20-point lead over the Conservatives it had when Rishi Sunak called the election.
Tory strategy now is to try to persuade voters fed up with the Conservatives to stick with the party, despite misgivings, for fear of Labour becoming too dominant.
Sir Keir is making a virtue of "super majority" warnings, saying in an interview with The Times that a big Labour majority "means we can roll up our sleeves and get on with the change we need".
But Ms Jones, a junior minister in the Wales Office, said she sees things differently.
"It would be churlish for me now to pretend that those polls aren't pointing to anything other than a Labour government and it's my job as a candidate to explain what that would mean," she said.
During campaigning in Wales, the Conservatives have attacked the Labour Welsh government on issues such as its handling of the NHS, roads policy and the introduction of a 20mph default speed limit in built-up areas.
Ms Jones said that she was not "going to pretend people aren't raising some of the issues we have as a party" but, on the doorstep, people were also telling her "they don't want Labour to do to the rest of the country what they've done to Wales".
Sir Keir Starmer has said a big Labour majority would be "better for the country"
From Labour's perspective, veteran campaigner Lord Hain said the election mood in 2024 "doesn't feel the same" as it did 27 years ago, the last time his party ended a long period of Conservative rule at Westminster.
"There is the same desire for change but there isn't the same enthusiasm for Labour that there was in 1997," he said.
"It feels pretty good for us for Labour. I think the country’s given up on the Tories, there’s a desperate desire for change, including amongst natural Conservative supporters, but I don’t detect a landslide share of the vote for Labour.
"I think we will win, but we will win because the first-past-the-post system does exaggerate majorities for any party."
Ben Lake, for Plaid Cymru, agreed Labour could be "sitting on a handsome majority" by Friday.
"If there is going to be a period of change then we need to make sure that Wales’ interests are reflected in that change and not forgotten about," he said.
"When it comes to investment in public services, when it comes to investment in new capital projects, like transport, and when it also comes to devolving greater powers, Wales’ voice really needs to be heard in a new parliament, and that’s what a vote for Plaid Cymru can ensure."
Labour head into the general election hoping to form a government in Westminster for the first time since 2010.
However in Wales the party has been in government since the start of devolution in 1999, responsible for areas including health, education, transport and the environment.
In the Senedd on Tuesday, Tory Senedd Labour Andrew RT Davies claimed Sir Keir was "embarrassed" by Labour's record in Wales.
"Is it any wonder Keir Starmer will not highlight what the Welsh government are doing? And that's why he's so embarrassed now in this current campaign about what Welsh Labour have delivered for Wales over the last 25 years," Mr Davies said at First Minister's Questions.
Rhun ap Iorwerth says Keir Starmer has shown he does not understand Wales
In response, First Minister Vaughan Gething, who took over as Welsh Labour leader in March, said he was "proud of what we've done", pointing to how his government had responded to concerns from doctors and farmers, as well as the situation at Tata Steel in Port Talbot.
He added that he looked forward "to working with Keir Starmer, if people across Wales and Britain choose to elect a UK Labour government".
But Mr Davies claimed that Keir Starmer was "not very proud of you, first minister - he can't even mention your record in Wales".
On his only visit to Wales during the campaign so far, Sir Keir said he was "proud" of Labour's record in Wales.
He has also previously described what Welsh Labour has done as a "blueprint", although he has more recently declined to repeat that word.
With opinion polls consistently suggesting a Labour general election victory, Plaid Cymru's leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: "We can't allow Labour in government to take Wales for granted."
He added that on the issues of extra powers and funding for the Welsh government, "Labour offers no real change to the Tories."
Mr ap Iorwerth also accused Sir Keir of showing "a distinct lack of understanding" of Wales.
Additional reporting by Adrian Browne