LABOUR’S Tom Davies says voters were “blinded by Brexit” during the 2019 General Election.

Mr Davies, who gained 3,944 votes in Brecon and Radnorshire, added that Brexit overshadowed issues such as poverty and homelessness.

Speaking at the election count at the Royal Welsh Showground in Llanelwedd, he said it was hard to take the “devastating” result of a Conservative majority government.

“My feeling from a lot of Brexit supporting people a majority of those are blinded by Brexit. I think it’s become a cult to be brutally honest.

“Such is the determination to achieve Brexit, we have seen a large number of people who are immune to persuasion or accept an alternative point of view, and it’s been a dominating feature for them.”

Mr Davies added: “I think the great difficulties with that, of course, is that we now have a Conservative government for five years and not just for Christmas.”

The Labour candidate for Brecon and Radnorshire said the party needed to take stock of the result.

“What I personally don’t want to see us abandon our manifesto. It’s a vision of hope and real change that this country desperately, desperately needs.”

He added: “When you see the poverty levels and homelessness across the country, it’s just not acceptable but I think Brexit has blinded a lot of voters from that and it’s a hard one to take.”

He spoke about taking Labour's “positive vision” across the constituency.

“While we’ve been talking about other issues and having a really transformative manifesto, I think the Conservatives have stuck to their Brexit line and policy and that narrative has cut through. That tactic has worked for them, I think that’s undeniable."