Tories vow to introduce winter fuel payment, if they win Senedd election
The Welsh Conservatives will introduce a winter fuel payment if they win the next Senedd election, the party leader is to announce.
The Tories will meet in Llangollen on Friday for their annual party conference, with Darren Millar promising the party will have the “boldest” manifesto next year.
During the two-day event, they will make several announcements, including pledging to introduce a Welsh winter fuel payment if they win the next Welsh Parliament election in May 2026.
Winter fuel payments were previously given to all pensioners across the UK.
However, last year, the UK Labour government restricted the payments to those qualifying for pension credits and other income-related benefits, as part of a bid to close a black hole in the nation’s finances.
Income tax
The Welsh Conservatives will also pledge to cut the basic rate of income tax by 1p, fuelled through efficiency measures across government departments, while protecting health, schools and farming.
All road projects will be “unfrozen” and no new cycle lanes will be built until “roads are fixed”.
Mr Millar’s party will also pledge to reverse the expansion of the Senedd, which is due to increase to 96 members from 60 after the election.
The conference is one of the last chances for the party to get together before the election next year, and comes at a time when the Conservatives are struggling in the polls in Wales.
Fourth place
A recent poll by YouGov put the Welsh Tories in fourth place on 13% at the next Senedd election, behind Plaid Cymru, Reform UK and Labour.
Mr Millar MS said: “The Welsh Conservative 2026 manifesto will be the boldest and most ambitious in our history.
“My team and I will present a comprehensive, fully-funded set of policy commitments to fix Wales ahead of the Senedd election.
“The Welsh Conservatives are working tirelessly to hold Labour to account, while other parties like Plaid Cymru have routinely propped them up.
“We now stand ready to offer the only credible alternative Welsh government.”
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‘… if they win Senedd election.’
Not much chance of that, if the most recent published opinion poll is to be credited!
Is it a bit early to hear cuckoos?
The unmistakable stench of BS. To reverse the expansion of Y Senedd states clearly the desire to work expressly against our country.
If you look at some of the constituency lists coming out currently, it doesn’t look like the extra MSs are going to provide the much vaunted ‘extra scrunity’ which we were promised. I say that as someone who is very pro devolution. When I viewed two unreleased lists of a major party near where I live, it was basically a list of whoever put their name forward
No-one on the Conservative lists need worry about having to do any work.
They would say that, wouldn’t they?
Funded by removing the cap on council tax that benefits the wealthiest? Go on then.
Surely building an electricity generator that can run off Tories hot air would be far more lucrative for Wales.
What will they gut for this?
Come on Mr Millar, show your workings out.
Conservative party’s pledge to reverse the expanded Senedd, means they are promising to undo the 2011 referendum on full law making powers. We are getting more MSs because of that referendum.
I will also point out that in 2010 the Conservatives promised to reduce the number of MPs in Westminster. They failed. They passed a law to reduce the number to 600, but Conservative MPs would put themselves out of a seat so they scrapped the change in 2019 citing Brexit workload.
…and exactly how are they going to fund this, what are they going to cut to fund this? Are they going to pay it to the richest pensioners or means test it?
They will cut income tax basic rate from 20% to 19% which cuts the Welsh Government income even further. Sounds like when John Redwood returned millions to the Treasury for absolutely no benefit, not even for his career.
The Tory group in the next Senedd will be meeting in a phone box.