Welsh election: Last bids to win over the voters - BBC News
Parties battled to win hearts and minds on the last day of the election campaign in Wales.
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart is served chips by his chancellor, Rishi Sunak during a visit to Marine Holiday Park in Rhyl Image caption: Welsh Secretary Simon Hart is served chips by his chancellor, Rishi Sunak during a visit to Marine Holiday Park in Rhyl

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told BBC Wales the Conservatives could bring “change” to Wales if voters backed them on Thursday.

The party has said voting Tory would ensure “two governments working together to rebuild after the pandemic and level up Wales”.

Journalists, including BBC Wales, were limited to two questions each for Mr Sunak, on the tightly controlled visit to Rhyl.

Asked by the BBC's Daniel Davies if he was telling the electorate that extra cash would not be available if they voted for Labour, Mr Sunak said: “If you want to see change that we’re bringing across the United Kingdom, if you vote for a Conservative government here in Wales, we’ll be able to deliver that change here as well.

“It's about making sure that we've completed the vaccine roll-out, and then we drive forward our economic recovery as we've protected people's jobs and businesses over the past 12 months.”

BBC Wales asked the chancellor if he could see why he was criticised for a decision not to extend job support when the Welsh government wanted to hold its firebreak lockdown last autumn. Furlough was extended when England locked down later.

Mr Sunak did not address the point directly but said: “I think at every point during the past 12 months during this crisis I and the government have acted to protect people in all parts of the United Kingdom.

“If you think about things like the furlough scheme, that's protected almost half a million jobs here in Wales. Fifty thousand businesses have benefited from government-backed loans.”

The chancellor said there had been £8bn “over two years of direct cash support for the Welsh government to support its local economy as well”.

“I know that we have stood behind people of Wales at this difficult time over the past 12 months,” Mr Sunak added.