Andrew RT Davies calls for Senedd Conservatives to ‘evolve or die’

Emily Price

Andrew RT Davies has defended the decisions he made as leader of the Conservatives in the Senedd and made calls for his party to “evolve or die”.

The South Wales Central MS was forced to resign in December after several members of his shadow cabinet staged a coup to oust him.

In a bid to cling on, Davies called for a confidence vote in his leadership – which he won 9 votes to 7.

But his position became untenable after almost half of his shadow cabinet threatened to quit their briefs if he didn’t resign.

Revolt

The revolt had been simmering since the summer when Davies was branded an “Islamophic race baiter” over claims he made on social media about Welsh children being forced to eat Halal school lunches.

He was also criticised for canvassing visitors at a rural show on whether they thought the Senedd should be abolished.

In October, Davies was formally censured by the Senedd’s standards commissioner for incorrect claims he made online about Wales’ 20mph default speed limit.

‘Impossible’

In an opinion column for Conservative Home published on Tuesday (December 31), Mr Davies defended his abrasive leadership style.

He said: “A Conservative Party ready to win must earn people’s confidence again, and fight for our communities, our traditions, our values, our history and our future, and not be afraid to ruffle the feathers of the political and media class while doing it.

“For my part, I tried to position the Welsh Conservatives in this space. Some of my colleagues made it impossible to do this, and it made my position as leader untenable.

“But for our party, standing still is not an option. That’s why I am not giving up the fight. Our party must respond to the new political reality. The choice is simple: evolve or die.”

Wipeout

Chief whip Darren Millar was elected unopposed as the new leader of the Tories in the Senedd as Davies returned to the backbench.

Mr Millar appointed former Welsh Secretary David TC Davies has his cheif of staff.

The former Monmouth MP lost his seat along with every other Conservative MP in Wales during the July General Election.

The Welsh Conservatives are now facing a difficult Senedd election in 2026 with recent polling predicting they will collapse into fourth place as Reform UK sees a surge in popularity.

‘Real deal’

In his op-ed, Mr Davies said his Conservatives in the Senedd were at a “fork in the road”.

He wrote: “I don’t believe the Conservative Party should become Reform-lite. I think we need to become the real deal. We need to be the party people turn to for action on their key concerns.

“To do that we need to be credible, and that begins with rhetoric. We’ve had the right rhetoric in the past, but it has not always translated into action.”

In the column, Mr Davies appeared to hit out at the recently re-elected Chairman of the Welsh Conservative Party, Bernard Gentry, over a social media comment.

In a post to X on Monday, Mr Davies wrote: “People are understandably fed up with Labour ministers in the Senedd. But Plaid Cymru nationalists aren’t the answer.

“20mph speed limits. 36 more Senedd members. Nation of Sanctuary. Sustainable Farming Scheme. Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan.

“Just some of the things Labour prioritised, with Plaid’s support, when they should’ve focused on Welsh public services. Plaid are complicit. They won’t clear up Labour’s mess.”

Mr Gentry left a comment on the post saying: “Voting for Plaid and Reform just helps Labour.”

‘Fudge option’

In Mr Davies’ article for Conservative Home, he said: “In a Welsh context, we can’t tell people that a vote for other parties is a vote for Labour, because Welsh elections will be fought in a fully proportional electoral system going forward.

“So we have to mark ourselves out, not as a fudge option, or a best of a bad situation, but as a positive choice to vote for.”

Since the former leader’s resignation, he has continued to push culture war topics on his social media channels despite it getting him into hot water with his group.

More recently, he published a number of posts online calling for the Democracy and Boundary Commission to reverse its decision for Senedd constituencies to be mostly referred to by Welsh-language names.

His calls appeared to be at odds with Darren Millar, who claimed on his first day as leader that the Tories were, “pro the Welsh language and culture.”

‘Predatory capitalism’

Writing for Conservative Home, Davies said the Tories needed to “earn people’s confidence again” and “not be afraid to ruffle the feathers of the political and media class while doing it.”

He wrote: “We need to speak frankly. We need to give a voice to the voiceless. We need to tackle tough issues that are relevant to people. People care about their health service, the economy, their children’s education.

“But they also care about their communities. They care when they are told by the media establishment that they should be ashamed of their history and their heritage.”

Describing himself as a “true blue business owner” Davies said his party needed to “confront the new realities of politics”.

He wrote: “We do not live in 2010. Brexit. President Trump. The rise of the RN in France. Meloni. The AFD in Germany. The list goes on.

“Incumbent politicians and parties are being replaced. The old parties of the left have climbed out of the mines and into the diversity and inclusion workshops.

“In the post-industrial West, it’s time to forget everything you think you know about politics.”

He added: “I have not lost faith in the power of capitalism to transform lives and lift people out of politics.

“But in a globalised world, predatory capitalism, if unchecked, will rip the heart out of our communities and our nations.

“Traditional political parties, which are about as nimble as cruise ships sometimes, are sitting ducks if they do not realise that.”

A Conservative source said Tory MSs in the Senedd had themselves recognised a need for change – which was why Davies was asked to resign.

The source said: “Andrew had been the leader since 2011. If he truly believed the party needed to ‘change or die’ then he’d have understood the reasons why his colleagues got rid of him after 13 and a half years.”