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Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservative party in Parliament, has resigned following months of mounting pressure over the party’s direction in Wales. Davies narrowly won a confidence vote on Tuesday morning, with nine in support and seven against. Despite surviving the vote, Davies stated that his position was “untenable” as the group almost split halfway. The MS for South Wales Central had been leader of the party in Senedd for most of the past 13 years and first became party leader in 2011.
Davies stepped back into the role in 2021 after his successor Paul Davies resigned over a scandal involving alcohol during the Covid-19 pandemic period. In a letter to his Welsh Tory chair Bernard Gentry, he accused party colleagues in the Senedd of undermining him and declared that he would not stand in the upcoming leadership contest. This is the first significant resignation of a senior Conservative since Kemi Badenoch became party leader.
His leadership saw four Welsh Labour first ministers, but it never came close to dislodging Labour’s dominance of Welsh devolved politics. But under his leadership, the party returned a record number of seats at the last election in 2021. The party officially supports Wales’ system of government, with the Welsh Parliament and Welsh government governing the NHS, education, agriculture and councils, among other topics.
Davies’ approach courted controversy with his social media account. In summer, his comments about halal meat led to accusations from a Muslim group of “race-baiting,” and former Welsh Tory Senedd leader Lord Bourne also criticized a message showing Davies asking constituents if they thought the Senedd should be abolished. It is worth noting that the Conservatives lag behind Plaid Cymru, Reform, and Labour in fourth place in Wales after a poll held last weekend
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