Andrew RT Davies wins confidence motion

Emily Price 

The leader of the Senedd Conservatives Andrew RT Davies has won a motion of confidence after members of his group staged a rebellion to topple him.

A sizeable minority of seven Conservative MSs attended a meeting with Mr Davies last week where they raised concerns about his leadership and called for him to resign. 

A well placed source told us that a series of controversial “gaffes” by the most senior Tory in Wales had caused some to become “nervous” about the direction he was taking the party.

Resignations 

Mr Davies responded to the rebellion by calling for a vote of confidence on Tuesday morning (December 3).

It’s understood that 9 MSs voted in favour of him whilst 7 voted against.

The result includes Mr Davies’ vote for himself.

The vote was not a secret ballot despite reports that it would be. It is understood that Mr Davies “pushed through” a motion to record the vote as a show of hands instead.

The motion was seconded by Laura Anne Jones.

Tory Sources told Nation Cymru that some MSs planned to resign from the Senedd’s shadow cabinet if Mr Davies was able to survive today’s vote.

Some MSs are currently discussing whether they will hand in their letters of resignation.

Lambasted

Pressure has been mounting on the Tory leader since the summer when a number of senior Tory figures and members of his own shadow cabinet publicly lambasted his behaviour.

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.

One post published to X, formerly Twitter, went viral after it was amplified by anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson.

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

Mr 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.

Supporters and 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 some Tory MSs to make an official statement rejecting calls for the party’s stance on devolution to change.

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 Mr Davies made comments to the tabloids about a Welsh Government report which allegedly suggested dog-free zones could tackle racism.

He was also formally censured by the Senedd for misleading posts he published online about Wales’ 20mph default speed limit.

Incumbency rights

MSs became even more uneasy after Mr Davies’ chief aide George Carroll stood to be the next Welsh Conservative chairman.

During his campaign he promised grassroots members a 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.

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

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 called for his removal.

Davies was re-appointed the role in January 2021 but took a short leave of absence  after suffering with mental health issues.

More to follow…