Abolish party praises Tories growing anti-Senedd sentiment

Emily Price 

The leader of the Abolish the Welsh Assembly party has praised growing anti-Senedd sentiment amongst the Welsh Conservatives and says Andrew RT Davies would be welcomed if he chose to join the organisation.

The single issue party was formed in 2015 with the sole aim of abolishing the Senedd and axing the position of First Minister, instead handing over all devolved powers to Westminster.

Abolish was expected to make an impact at the last Senedd election - but only got 3.7% of the vote.

Key points in the party’s 2021 manifesto included stopping compulsory Welsh language in schools and teaching the National Curriculum for England in schools instead.

It also called for the re-introduction of prescription charges for people in Wales aged between 17 and 64 as is the case in England.

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Future

Abolishing the Senedd is against Conservative party policy but in recent months a series of internal rows have brewed over the group’s stance on the future of devolution.

Andrew RT Davies' senior advisor, George Carroll, has promised a debate on whether the Welsh Parliament should be axed if he is successful in his bid to become the party's Welsh chairman.

Welsh Conservative MS Peter Fox rejected the idea with a post on X which read: "This is a really unnecessary discourse. The argument should be about who has run the Senedd for 25 years, not the entity itself."

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'Old guard'

Abolish the Welsh Assembly says the "old guard" of the Welsh Conservatives should abandon what has been for them and their families "a self-enrichment scheme".

Leader Richard Suchorzewski said: "It now appears a number of aspiring young Conservative party leaders hold a similar view. We have known for years that the majority of Welsh Conservative members also want the Senedd abolished.

"Its time the old Conservative leadership is thrown out and the new wave of patriotic pro UK future leaders are elected to their positions instead.

"We would like to see the same happen with the other major political parties too but won't hold our breath."

Asked whether Mr Suchorzewski would like Andrew RT Davies to join his party, he said: "Andrew is welcome to join Abolish as is anyone else - apart from extremists - who will proactively campaign for the abolition of the Senedd."

Vote

Last month, correspondence leaked to Nation.Cymru revealed a call by a Cardiff Tory Councillor for the party’s policy director to back a vote of grassroots members on the issue.

We also revealed how anti-Senedd MS Joel James had called on residents in his constituency to take part in forums to discuss whether the Welsh Parliament should be abolished.

In June, a rift in the Senedd shadow cabinet appeared to be deepen after Andrew RT Davies organised a stunt at the Vale of Glamorgan Show where people were invited to put balls into two buckets to highlight whether they wanted to abolish the Senedd or not.

The most senior Conservative in Wales argued it was "important to find out what people think".

Row

Several Welsh Conservative MSs took to social media in what appeared to be a combined effort to undermine their leader.

Shadow Economy Minister Paul Davies posted to X: "The Conservative Party is clear – it is not Party policy to abolish the Senedd so not sure why this question is even being asked."

Shadow Rural Affairs Minister Sam Kurtz appeared to support Paul Davies, swiftly reposting the comment.

Former Welsh Tory leader Lord Nick Bourne published a post saying: "It has NEVER been the policy of the Welsh Conservative Party to abolish the Assembly/Senedd. Why pose this question? Absolutely right Paul."

Shadow Minister for Social Services Gareth Davies posted: "I’m on the public record in saying that if I wanted to abolish the Senedd, I’d have never bothered standing for it in the first place."

Shadow Education Minister Tom Giffard posted: "Abolishing the Senedd won’t be on the ballot at the next election – but Labour’s awful record on health, the economy and education will; as well as our positive plan to turn it around. That’s what we’ll be focusing on."

Shadow Transport Minister Natasha Asghar posted: "It’s not our policy to abolish the Senedd & I fully support devolution. It brings decision making closer to the people & that, without a doubt, is a good thing

"Devolution is not the issue. The issue is the Labour Party’s complete mismanagement and incompetence."