Carwyn Jones demands energy and unity on eve of Welsh Labour conference

Carwyn Jones has warned Welsh Labour against coasting as his party seeks to hold on to its slim control of power.

The First Minister said the campaign must “energise” members every day until Welsh people cast their vote on May 5.

Speaking in the run-up to Welsh Labour conference, which begins on Friday, Jones said his party was united, in contrast to MPs at Westminster, and said voters were not interested in a coalition in the National Assembly.

“The response on the doorstep is good. The campaign will be about energising our members to carry us on everyday until May”, he told LabourList.

“We are still leading in the opinion polls but we have to do more to keep the number of seats we have.

“Nobody ever talks about it [coalition] – you can’t vote for a coalition. People think about which party they are going to vote for.

“And we want to show people in the rest of the UK that we know how to win.”

A poll this week for ITV and Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre put Labour on 34 per cent, which could result in 27 seats. The party currently holds 30 – one short of overall control.

The breakthrough result in May could come from UKIP, who are on course to go from zero to nine AMs, according to the poll.

Jones has long positioned himself as a pro-business candidate and previously described Jeremy Corbyn as an “unusual choice” for leader of the British Labour party.

When asked about the reaction on the doorstep to a Corbyn-led Labour Party, Jones said: “It not about him but it is the feeling we are divided in London.

“People remain to be convinced we can form a Government in Westminster. Public rows are not helpful to us [but] in Wales we are a united party.”

Jones also attacked Tory smears on Welsh Labour’s handling of the NHS and pointed to last week’s report by the OECD, which said “no consistent picture emerges of the United Kingdom’s four health systems performing better than [one] another”.

Earlier this week Jones launched Welsh Labour’s six pledges for the campaign, which are:

• Free childcare for working parents.

• Tax cuts for all small businesses in Wales.

• 100,000 quality apprenticeships for all ages.

• A new treatment fund for life threatening illnesses.

• To double the capital limit for those selling their main property and moving into care homes.

• An extra £100m to improve school standards.