The Tories will be able to hold their first post-election conference in the “smallest house in the world” due to their reduced numbers, a Welsh minister has joked.
Ken Skates, the cabinet member for North Wales, has said the Welsh Conservatives will fit “in the porchway” of The Smallest House after next May’s Welsh parliament election, during questions in the Senedd on Wednesday.
The home, which sits on Conwy’s seafront in north Wales, is believed to be the smallest house in the United Kingdom.
Measuring just 72 inches wide, the house, which has not been lived in for some time, has become a tourist destination.
The minister’s comments followed a question about the impact a proposed tourism levy would have on the north Wales economy from Gareth Davies, Tory MS for the Vale of Clwyd.
The Visitor Levy Bill, which is going through the Senedd, will allow councils to charge up to £1.30 per person per night for staying in tourist accommodation, with the money going towards local infrastructure.
Mr Skate’s joke also comes 10 months ahead of the next Senedd election, where recent polls have put the Tories in a predicted fourth place.
The Westminster party was also wiped out in Wales in the general election last year, going from 14 seats to zero.
However, Labour is also expected to face a difficult battle in May’s elections.
Recent polling by Survation placed them at 27%, with Reform and Plaid Cymru close behind on 24% each, while previous YouGov polling had the incumbent party in third place.
Mr Skates told Mr Davies he visited Conwy following the Welsh Labour Conference, which was held in Llandudno last weekend.
Addressing Mr Davies, he said: “At the end of the conference, I thought I’d just spend a little more time in the area.
“I actually went over to Conwy as well, which is a fabulous place too.
“You’ll be aware that it has the smallest house in the world on the seafront there.
“I was told that your party is going to be holding your post-election conference in the porchway, in that particular tourist attraction next year.”
Mr Skates added that he would be discussing the visitor levy with the north Wales business council on Friday, calling the fee an “opportunity,” which he insisted had been welcomed in other areas like Manchester.
Mr Davies said he “appreciates the sharpness and the wit of the Cabinet Secretary” but argued the levy could lead to a decrease in people staying in Wales, with many councils having already ruled out implementing it.
