Andrew RT Davies resigns as leader of the Welsh Conservative Senedd group

Emily Price

Andrew RT Davies has resigned as leader of the Welsh Conservative Senedd group.

It comes just a few short hours after he won a motion of confidence in his leadership on Tuesday morning (December 3).

The vote was called by Davies himself after a sizeable minority Conservative MSs raised concerns about the direction he was taking the party.

9 MSs voted in favour of him continuing as leader - they were, Janet Finch Saunders, Laura Anne Jones, Gareth Davies, Joel James, Paul Davies, Russell George, Darren Millar and Mark Isherwood.

7 voted against - they were, Tom Giffard, Natasha Asghar, Altaf Hussein, James Evans, Peter Fox, Sam Kurtz and Sam Rowlands.

Andrew RT Davies voted for himself.

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Show of hands

The vote was not a secret ballot despite reports that it would be. It is understood that the Tory leader was able to "push through" a motion to record the vote as a show of hands instead.

This motion was seconded by Laura Anne Jones.

It is understood that shortly after he won the vote, several members of his shadow cabinet threatened to resign.

A Welsh Conservative source said: "All leaders have a shelf life, and it was clear Andrew has stayed past his. Change is always difficult and rarely personal, but Senedd Member colleagues have taken the right decision for the future of our party."

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'Regret'

In a letter published to social media on Tuesday (December 3) he said:  "Last week, a group of Senedd members approached me, threatening to resign their positions in shadow cabinet if I did not agree to step down as leader.

"I therefore requested a motion of confidence in my leadership to be held at a meeting this morning. This vote has now taken place. It was clear from the result that a substantial minority of the Group do not support our approach, despite it being the only viable strategy available. While I would have been honoured to continue as leader, my position is consequently untenable.

"I would like to take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt thanks to those Senedd members who did support me and all our hardworking staff. Similarly, I would like to thank our dedicated party members and grassroots supporters, who are the lifeblood of our party. Without their commitment to paying their membership fees, knocking doors, delivering leaflets and raising funds, we would be unable to further the conservative cause.

"They do so not out of financial motivation or in the interests of personal gain, but because they believe passionately in conservative values and in the United Kingdom as our nation state. This stands in direct contrast to some Conservative Senedd members.

"While there was significant resistance to our approach among certain elements of the Senedd Group, it is clear there is widespread support and enthusiasm among our wider party membership.

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Contest

He added: "Moving forward, it is clear the Welsh Conservative Party must decide exactly what it stands for.

"This is a decision in which everyone must be given their say. It is therefore imperative that a contest is held to elect my successor, with party members given the opportunity to choose.

"There must be a healthy debate in which the candidates, their ideas and qualities are placed under robust scrutiny. To confirm, I will not be standing in this contest."

Summer recess

Pressure has been mounting on Davies since the Senedd’s summer recess when a number of senior Tory figures and members of his own shadow cabinet publicly lambasted his behaviour following a series of stories by Nation.Cymru.

In August, he was accused of Islamophic race-baiting by the Muslim Council of Wales after he posted a number of incorrect claims about Halal meat in Welsh schools to his social media.

The rift in the Senedd’s shadow cabinet appeared to deepen further following another social media stunt at the Vale of Glamorgan show.

Davies and his team had constructed a home made ballot box to canvass the public on whether they thought the Welsh Parliament should be abolished.

Associates of the politician then began to secretly manoeuvre to change the party’s policy so it would support the abolition of the Senedd

Davies was later pressured by his Tory MSs to make an official statement rejecting calls for the party’s stance on devolution to change.

Coup

The rumblings of a coup appeared to lose pace after the group returned to the Senedd in the autumn for a new term.

But tension began to mount again after he supported his chief aide George Carroll in a bid to become the new Welsh Conservative chairman.

During Carroll's campaign he promised a members ballot on whether abolishing the Senedd should become party policy.

He also planned to change the rules around incumbency rights for sitting MSs ahead of the 2026 Senedd election.

Such a move could have seen some current members deselected.

Support

Davies threw his support behind his senior advisor while the rest of the Tory Senedd group backed the winning candidate.

Davies joined the Welsh Conservatives in 1997 on the advice of his wife after he became  frustrated with the way rural communities were being treated by the government during the mad cow disease outbreak.

The Brexiteer was elected to the then National Assembly of Wales on the South Wales Central regional list in 2007.

He was elected the Leader of the Welsh Conservative Senedd group in 2011 but resigned from the position in 2018 when others in the party agitated for his removal.

Davies was re-appointed the role in January 2021 but took a leave of absence in September of that year after bouts of flu and Covid impacted his mental health.

Twitter

In recent years, his Twitter account has been condemned for becoming a conveyer belt of populist talking points.

On Valentines day in 2023, he published a bizarre poem which read: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. Stop being woke. It’s not good for you!"

The farmer-turned-politician is known for his distinctive eccentric style during interviews – once telling a journalist he was a breech baby and that he was “blue when I was born and blue now”.

He’s been mocked for sounding like a horse racing commentator when answering questions and once promised that “Breakfast” instead of “Brexit” would be a success.

Born in Cowbridge, he is the President of Llantrisant Young Farmers Club, a life governor of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society and a member of the NFU.

Despite being involved in front-line Welsh politics ever since his election he has always maintained that he’s a farmer first and foremost.

The process will now begin for a new Welsh Conservative leader to be selected.

Candidates will need to be nominated by at least four MSs – nominations would then be put forward to a membership ballot.