New Welsh election system means every Tory vote counts, says Badenoch
PA MediaThe new voting system for the Senedd means every vote for the Conservatives counts, party leader Kemi Badenoch has said.
She told the BBC the proportional voting system being used on 7 May means it is no longer the case that there is "no point voting here because only one party ever wins".
The Tories had opposed the expansion of the Senedd from 60 to 96 members, as well the new voting system, when it was being agreed by Wales' parliament.
Badenoch said the party had a "optimistic, positive message" and Welsh Tory Senedd leader Darren Millar was the best person for the job of first minister.
Polling suggests the party could drop into fourth or fifth place, and indicate Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are vying to win the most seats.
Privately, Conservatives do not expect to form the next government, and would be pleased if the party got to low double digits, or even enough to form an official Senedd group of five.
Badenoch was speaking to BBC Wales as part of a series of interviews with UK party leaders and key figures ahead of polling day.
"There is one thing that people do need to know, and that is that the election system is changing for this election, every single vote counts", she said.
"It's not like before where you say 'there's no point voting here because only one party ever wins', this time it's different."
On 7 May, voters will elected 96 politicians across 16 constituencies, with six Members of the Senedd (MSs) elected in each. Voters back a party, rather than a candidate.
When votes are counted, those six Senedd members will be decided based largely on the proportion of votes they get in a constituency.
That is unlike the system used in previous Senedd elections and in general elections, where the winner of a seat is the candidate who can win the most votes in a constituency.
Last year the leader of the Tories in the Senedd, Darren Millar, said the new system could help "motivate more people", although he said he remained opposed to the changes, which he said would reduce the direct accountability politicians have to their voters.
No party is expected to win a majority of seats in the next Welsh Parliament, and some level of co-operation could be needed to form the country's next government or help pass laws.
The Tories have not ruled out working with any specific party.
Badenoch said her party was against what she called Plaid Cymru's "separatist nationalist agenda".
"We are not pushing any agenda that's going to help nationalists, we want a centre right agenda," she said.
She said Conservatives "will work with whoever's going to help deliver those things".
While highly critical of Plaid Cymru, Badenoch would not be drawn on the question of whether or not her party would rule out working with them.
"We're not even talking about deals with other parties, anyone talking about deals right now does not care about the public. They just care about winning. Deals here and deals there confuse people who want to know who to vote for", she said.
