THE Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, visited Rhyl and Llandudno today (April 25) to offer his support for Conservative candidates standing in next month's local elections.

Mr Johnson visited Marine Holiday Park, Rhyl and the Penderyn whisky distillery in Llandudno ahead of the elections, which will be held on Thursday, May 5.

He also accompanied candidates on the campaign trail in St Asaph in the morning.

He was joined in Rhyl by both the MP and MS for Vale of Clwyd, James and Gareth Davies respectively.

During his visit to Marine Holiday Park, Mr Johnson was given a tour of the premises, including its "Ice Cream Port", where he made frozen treats, and its new "Shipwreck Bay" indoor swimming pool.

The Prime Minister later headed to Llandudno, where he was joined by the Aberconwy MS, Janet Finch-Saunders, and Aberconwy MP, Robin Millar.

  • Tudno Ward candidates: Dr Rob Atenstaedt (Welsh LDs), Ryan Ehlke-West (Welsh Cons), Robert Hughes-Mullock (Independent), Carol Marubbi (Independent), Thomas Montgomery (Welsh Cons), Angie O’Grady (Welsh Lab)
  • Gogarth Mostyn Ward candidates: Louise Emery (Welsh Cons), Mandy Hawkins (Welsh Lab), Dawn McGuinness (Welsh Lab), Dewi Miles (Independent), Greg Robbins (Welsh Cons), Harry Saville (Welsh Cons), Ian Turner (Independent)
  • Full list of Conwy candidates: www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/20052273.local-elections-candidates-running-conwy-councillors

Rhyl Journal: Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the campaign trail with Janet-Finch Saunders Robin Millar in Llandudno, North Wales. Picture by Andrew Parsons / Parsons MediaPrime Minister Boris Johnson on the campaign trail with Janet-Finch Saunders Robin Millar in Llandudno, North Wales. Picture by Andrew Parsons / Parsons Media

There, as well as visiting the distillery, he also stopped for a hot drink at The Lemon Tree Tea Rooms on St George's Place.

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LIVE: Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits North Wales

Local elections: The candidates in the running to be Conwy councillors

Local elections: The candidates in the running to be Denbighshire councillors

Turnout in Wales' last local elections in 2017 was just 42 per cent which, despite being higher than UK average of 35 per cent, was far lower than in UK parliamentary elections.

Asked why people in North Wales should vote on May 5, Mr Johnson told the Journal/Pioneer: "I think local elections make a huge amount of difference. This is about the quality of the service that you're going to get from your local councillors.

"Conservative councillors work incredibly hard to try to deliver the best possible services for the lowest possible council tax.

"It's about value. Conservative councils charge the lowest in the country; I think Labour councils charge some of the highest.

"In this election, it's also about which party is really getting on with the job and focusing on the things that matter.

"Here in North Wales, it's all about our vision for the future of Wales, the things we want to do on transport, on clean energy, whether it's wind or nuclear, and just encouraging people to come to North Wales, a fantastic place."

 

Next month's local elections come on the back of North Wales' electricity prices showing a rise of more than 100 per cent - the highest rate increase of any UK area.

Meanwhile, it was recently found that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which covers the region, is the worst-performing Welsh area against the four-hour A&E target, with only 59.5 per cent seen within that time frame.

And which average annual house prices in Denbighshire dropped by 5.9 per cent to £197,452, they rose in Conwy and Gwynedd by 11.8 per cent (£239,159) and 8.7 per cent (£229,967) respectively.

Rhyl Journal: Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the campaign trail with St Asaph West candidate Peter Scott during a visit North Wales. Picture by Andrew Parsons / Parsons MediaPrime Minister Boris Johnson on the campaign trail with St Asaph West candidate Peter Scott during a visit North Wales. Picture by Andrew Parsons / Parsons Media

With all of this in mind, when asked why North Wales residents should vote for a Conservative candidate on May 5, Mr Johnson said: "I think they should vote Conservative because we'll deliver better services for a lower council tax.

"When you talk about energy, we're coming through with solutions that will drive jobs and growth in Wales, like a nuclear power station at Wylfa in Anglesey, but also wind power off the coast of North Wales.

"There are huge opportunities in Wales; you could put up a wind turbine in 24 hours, and if we really got our act together, we could build a huge floating offshore wind platform in two years.

"If you could build something like three gigawatts (worth of power), that's a huge amount of juice.

"That would make an appreciable difference to the supply in this country; it would help to make electricity bills more affordable for people in Wales, and we're on that right away.

"That's in addition to what we're doing here and now - taking £150 off people's council tax to help them with the cost of energy, lifting the living wage by a record amount up to £9.50, helping everybody on Universal Credit to get £1,000 more a year; all sorts of help that we're going to keep giving families.

"We're dealing with the aftershocks of COVID and the economic consequences of that around the world; the pressures on prices, particularly on fuel.

"We've got a British Energy Security Strategy, much of which depends on brilliant Welsh technology, but will also be a huge benefit for Wales.

In February, figures found by the Welsh Conservatives showed that just 19 per cent of the Transforming Towns programme’s funds (£44.9million) ended up in the six counties in North Wales.

This was the smallest portion allocated to an area of Wales, with Darren Millar, the Conservative MS for Clwyd West, criticising the country's "North-South divide".

Last month, an investigation by Care Forum Wales (CFW) also revealed that the fees paid by local authorities in North Wales are up to £11,000 a year less per person than those on offer in South Wales.

But Mr Johnson dismissed the notion of a "North-South divide" in the country, saying: "we want to support everywhere in Wales".

He added that potential improvements to the North Wales Main Line railway service, including enhanced connectivity with Manchester and Liverpool, would be "a massive benefit to the economy".

James Davies MP also pointed to the impacts of the Levelling Up Fund, from which Denbighshire applied for £20m, and the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF), which is set to support Wales with £585m in the next three years.

Under the SPF, Denbighshire and Conwy are both set to receive more than £24.5m each, while Anglesey is to be given in excess of £16m.

Dr Davies said: "We're looking to improve the A55 enormously, and also the North Wales Main Line railway into Liverpool and Manchester.

"And the regeneration of the towns; in particular, the Levelling Up Fund application for Denbighshire, which has gone in at £20m, and the SPF, which is coming down the line, which Denbighshire does very well out of: in fact, better than under EU funding rules."

It was Mr Johnson's first visit to North Wales since late January, when he was shown around sites including Orthios Eco Park in Holyhead, and Hanson Aggregates' plant in Penmaenmawr.