THE national chairman of the Conservatives has admitted that party members are frustrated because Brexit has not been delivered.

Brandon Lewis, who is on a whistle-stop tour of the North West today, is meeting party activists ahead of tomorrow’s council elections.

He told The Bolton News that voters should focus on local issues, but he acknowledged people’s frustrations.

He said: “I fully accept, our members, our activists and many residents are frustrated because Brexit hasn’t been delivered yet. I get that, I share that frustration. I wish Labour would vote for it, as they said in their manifesto, but Labour have consistently voted against it. And in Parliament we’ve got to find a way through that.”

The party chairman was in Bolton, Bury and Trafford a week after the Prime Minister visited the region.

However, local Conservatives were too “busy on the doorsteps talking about local issues” to meet Theresa May.

Bolton’s Tory leader David Greenhalgh told The Bolton News that the national picture has had an impact, but his group are keeping the message local.

Mr Lewis was asked whether visits by national figures like himself and the Prime Minister help or hinder local Conservative campaigns.

He said: “I think it’s all part of us all working together, and it helps. I was up here last year for local elections as well and I visited Bolton last year, as well as other councils, and my view hasn’t changed being a councillor myself for many years right through to now as chairman of the party.

“Local elections are about those local issues and it’s absolutely right, all of our councillors all over the country, focus on talking to residents about the issues they actually make decisions over.”

Mr Lewis, who was leader of Brentwood Borough Council before he became an MP, described these elections as “tough” for Conservatives across the country but said the party will be doing everything to get a good turnout.

He said: “We want to make sure that everyone gets good Conservative representation and that’s why it’s looking at what local candidates and local councils do for local people. Conservatives do more and do it for less.”

Cllr Nick Peel, who is running Labour’s election campaign in Bolton, described Mr Lewis’s comments about Brexit as “disingenuous”.

He said: “It’s the Conservatives who run the government and it’s them who lost control of their own party. Theresa May invited in the Labour team to help her and Labour is trying its best to resolve this situation. We are not in government and we are not taking the lead.”

Local Lib Dem leader Roger Hayes said that local elections have nothing to do with Brexit but took issue with Mr Lewis’s comments.

He said: “I’d agree with him in that local elections have nothing to do with Brexit. But I think that the reason Labour will not vote for the deal is that it’s a very bad deal. I’m no apologist for Labour, but the Lib Dems think it’s a very bad deal for Britain too.”

UKIP leader Gerard Batten is understood to be campaigning in Little Lever today.

Labour’s shadow housing minister Sarah Jones visited Westhoughton last week.