Plaid only party to put Wales first, says leader

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has been out campaigning on the final weekend before the election

Plaid Cymru is the only party that puts the interests of Wales first, leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has said.

On the final campaigning weekend, he said Sir Keir Starmer would win Thursday’s vote, and that Plaid would "hold Labour to account" on Welsh issues in Westminster.

Welsh Labour said it was spending the weekend promoting its "message of change to voters".

A senior Welsh Conservative said a future Tory Westminster government would give people a legal right to challenge 20mph zones.

Voters go to the polls on Thursday to elect a new UK government.

On the campaign trail in north-west Wales, Mr ap Iorwerth said there was a "clear and consistent" message from his party.

"The Conservatives are going to lose this election heavily," he said.

"We know that Sir Keir will form the next government but we need MPs who will hold that new government to account," he said, adding Plaid Cymru’s voice needed "to be as strong as possible in the next parliament".

Meanwhile, David TC Davies, the Welsh Secretary and the most senior Conservative Westminster politician in Wales, has been out campaigning in the south-east corner of the country.

In a message on X, he re-iterated the party’s proposals to enact a law in Westminster to require "local consent" for 20mph zones and to give local communities a legal right to challenge existing zones.

“A Conservative government will legislate quickly to make sure that 20mph speed limits across England and Wales cannot be imposed without the support of local people in referendums,” he said.

Wales has had a 20mph speed limit in largely built-up areas since September last year.

Introduced by the former first minister Mark Drakeford's government, the limit prompted the largest petition the Senedd has received.

Changes have been promised by Vaughan Gething's government, but recent figures showed the number of people injured on 20 and 30mph roads fell by almost a third in the final quarter of 2023.

Welsh Labour has told BBC Wales: "Our volunteers and candidates are out campaigning every day to bring Labour's message of change to voters across Wales. Change can only happen if you vote for it on 4 July."

The number of Westminster seats in Wales will drop at this general election with the number of Welsh MPs cut from 40 to 32.

The boundary commission announced last year several Welsh seats would vanish in their current form.

With the exception of Ynys Môn, every Westminster constituency in Wales will see changes.

At the 2019 general election, Labour won 22 seats, the Conservatives 14 and Plaid Cymru four.