Darren Millar expected to be confirmed as new Welsh Tory leader

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On Thursday, nominations for the next Welsh Conservative leader will officially close and Darren Millar is expected to be elected unopposed. Out of his 15 colleagues, Millar has gained the public backing of 13 of them and there have been no other candidates declared yet. This comes after the previous leader, Andrew RT Davies, resigned from the position under mounting pressure over the party’s direction.

Millar has promised to unite the party, which was evident as seven members voted against Davies in a recent vote. Although Davies had narrowly won with nine votes in favour, he deemed it untenable for him to continue.

First elected in 2007, Millar is currently the pro-devolution politician for Clwyd West and is considered the most senior Conservative in the group of 16 other than Andrew RT Davies. He is a prominent Tory spokesman in Welsh media but has not run for the leadership role previously.

If confirmed, Millar will be the third Welsh political leader to be elected unopposed in two years, following Eluned Morgan for Labour in the summer and Rhun ap Iorwerth for Plaid Cymru in 2023.

Some Conservative Senedd members had expressed concerns about the direction of the party under Davies. Additionally, Davies’ comments on halal meat in a school were disputed by the school’s local authority and were accused of being “race-baiting” by a Muslim group. Another tweet had shown him asking constituents at an agricultural show whether they believed the Senedd should be abolished, which upset some Tories who officially back devolution.

As the next election is happening in May 2026, the Senedd voting intention poll at the weekend suggested that the Tories were in fourth place, placing them behind Plaid, Reform and Labour. Meanwhile, Millar’s supporters include outgoing leader Andrew RT Davies, former leader Paul Davies, Janet Finch-Saunders, Peter Fox, and Russell George

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