Ahead of tonight’s Conservative Party leadership debate in Cardiff, Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds has stated both candidates have long records of failure when it comes to delivering for Wales and promises made tonight are nothing more than “hot air”.

Leadership contenders Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss will face questions from Welsh Conservative party members in Cardiff this evening.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have highlighted several areas where both leadership contenders have failed to deliver on manifesto promises for Wales, including protecting Welsh farmers, investing in infrastructure and securing funding arrangements for Wales post-Brexit.

The hustings come after Liz Truss was forced to abandon plans for regional pay scales for public sector workers that would have led to salary cuts in Wales after widespread criticism, with Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds calling the proposals “callous, incompetent and ridiculous”.

Commenting Jane Dodds MS said:

“What we will see tonight is yet another round of hot air from the Conservatives. Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and the Conservatives have a long record of failing to deliver for Wales and that is unlikely to change after this leadership contest.

“Liz Truss sold our Welsh farmers down the river in order to sign the one-sided Australian and New Zealand trade deals.

“Meanwhile Rishi Sunak, as Chancellor, failed to deliver the infrastructure investment needed to turbocharge the Welsh economy, including refusing to give us our fair share of HS2 funding. Additionally, he was almost entirely absent in the cost-of-living crisis, failing to support Welsh families and instead raising their taxes to the highest level in decades.

“The Conservative party as a whole failed to keep their promise that Wales would not lose a single penny post-Brexit with Wales set to lose £772 million between 2021 and 2025.

“In rural areas like my own, the Conservatives’ failures in Wales are even more obvious. Pledges on broadband have been left unmet, with Powys having the worst connectivity in the whole UK. Then you also have the refusal of the Government to roll out the rural fuel rebate to rural Wales. These failures come despite 11/13 Welsh Conservative MPs representing rural areas.

“Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak can make all the promises they want tonight, but their record and the record of the Conservative Party speaks for itself, with an abject failure to deliver on their promises for Wales over the last ten years, this is unlikely to change soon.”