Senior Tory criticises abolish the Senedd social media stunt

Emily Price

Another senior Tory has criticised Andrew RT Davies for canvassing opinion at an agriculture show on whether the Senedd should be abolished. 

President of the Welsh Conservative Party, Glyn Davies said he was “disappointed” that the issue of whether the Welsh Parliament should exist was “being raised in public”.

Last week, the leader of the Tories in Cardiff Bay posted an image to X of a home made ballot box asking visitors to the Vale of Glamorgan Show if they thought the Senedd should be abolished.

In a post to Facebook at the weekend, Tory peer Glyn Davies said: “Disappointed to see reports of public disagreement between two leading Conservatives in Wales today about the very existence of devolution. Thought we had settled this issue in 1997!

“I consider both leader of the Senedd Conservative Group, Andrew RT Davies and former leader of the Assembly Conservative Group , Lord Nick Bourne to be good friends of mine. There is no meaningful debate on this issue. The position is clear.

“It was legitimate to consider the principle of devolution prior to Sept 1997. It was a subject of public debate. I myself (along with Lord Bourne) was opposed to creating a devolved ‘Parliament’ in Wales.

“We had a national vote on the issue. I recall being at the Powys count on referendum night- the only ‘No’ representative present when the final deciding vote from Carmarthenshire came through.

“My side lost. It was mighty close but I’m a democrat and accepted the result. As driving home I resolved to seek a role in the way Welsh devolution played out. I was voted in as an Assembly Member representing Mid and West Wales. For me, that’s how democracy works. The result must be respected.

“And we had another national debate, arranged by Peter Hain a few years later when he was Welsh Secretary which backed increased powers for the Assembly, now renamed the Senedd, granting law-making powers. I fully accepted that result as well.

“I accept that there remain many who have never accepted the result and would like the Senedd to be abolished. Since 1997, this has not included the Welsh Conservative Party. I cannot fathom what can possibly be gained by reopening a long settled debate. Raising this issue in public is a disappointment. It’s not going to happen.”

‘Blind alley’

He was reacting to a BBC Radio Wales interview on Sunday with former Welsh Conservative leader Lord Nick Bourne who said he didn’t “understand why we’re going down this blind alley”.

The social media stunt prompted several MSs and two former Welsh Conservative leaders to publicly distance themselves from Andrew RT Davies.

Abolishing the Senedd is not Tory party policy – but the most senior Conservative in Wales argued it was “important to find out what people think”.

Speaking to Radio Wales Breakfast on Monday morning, Mr Davies said he never counted up the vote at the end of the event.

He added: “If you want to engage with a group of society that do hold a view contrary to yours, you pose a question, then you engage with them on a one to one basis.”

‘Race baiting’

Andrew RT Davies has had a torrid Senedd recess so far after he was accused of “Islamophobic race baiting” by the Muslim Council of Wales for incorrectly suggesting only Halal meat was being served at a school in the Vale of Glamorgan.

He went viral on X, formally Twitter, after the issue was amplified by far-right figure Tommy Robinson.

The Tory leader says he is following up on the concerns of his constituents.

Shortly after the faith council released its statement accusing him of “dog whistle racism”, Nation.Cymru published a text message sent by Tory MS Laura Anne Jones in which she used an offensive racist slur to describe Chinese people.

Shadow cabinet members Natasha Asghar and Peter Fox later spoke out about racism within their party. Mr Fox said, “where it does raise its ugly head it needs to be dealt with”.

Allegations

Ms Jones was removed from the front bench in May after police and the Standards Commissioner launched probes into allegations of false accounting.

Andrew RT Davies told Radio Wales Breakfast that no Conservative MSs had suggested to him that Ms Jones should be suspended.

He said: “I note that Laura Anne Jones has made a full and wholesome apology for the use of wholly inappropriate language in a private WhatsApp message group amongst her staff.

“But what do we do these days? Do we take people out and tar and feather them or do we actually accept an apology, understand that people learn the lessons of their mistakes and move on?”

Tory sources told us there could be plans for a leadership challenge but there are concerns that the group wouldn’t unite behind a successor.

Asked this morning whether the Welsh Conservative leader feels challenged or threatened, Andrew RT Davies said “no of course I don’t”.