Tory MS deletes social media post calling for Senedd to be scrapped
Emily Price
A Welsh Conservative MS has deleted a social media post calling for the Senedd to be axed, putting him at odds with his party’s official pro-devolution stance.
In a first test of the authority of newly elected Tory group leader Darren Millar, shadow cabinet member Joel James shared a news story about the Senedd’s new constituencies to X on Tuesday (December 17).
In the post, he wrote: “More and more reasons to get rid of the place – how do these super constituencies with nameless candidates deliver devolution and give people more power? Absolute farce 🤦”
But around an hour after publishing the post, the South Wales Central MS deleted it.
Views
We asked the Welsh Conservatives if Mr James had been instructed to remove the post.
A spokesperson said: “Joel fully understands the view of the Welsh Conservatives which is that we support devolution, and want a Conservative government to use the powers of the Senedd to fix Wales. This was not fully conveyed in a deleted post on X.”
It’s not the first time Mr James has shown anti-Senedd views. Prior to becoming elected in 2021, documents leaked to the BBC revealed that he had sent applications to party members setting out his anti-devolution stance.
In the autumn this year, he hosted several round table events inviting constituents to discuss whether the Welsh Parliament should be abolished.
Senedd Members earn over £72,000 a year which is funded by the tax payer.
Rift
Mr James has recently been appointed the new Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Children, Young People, Mental Health and Wellbeing in a reshuffle following a rebellion which brought down Andrew RT Davies.
But his continuing anti-Senedd sympathies could be a sign that a growing rift amongst the group has not subsided with the removal of the former group leader.
Deputy Chairman of the South Wales East Conservatives Huw Davies says that if Mr James is punished for his anti-Senedd views – he will have the full support of the membership.
He said: “He is the only MS openly saying what the overwhelming majority of Conservative voters think.”
Rows
Abolishing the Senedd is against Conservative party policy, but a series of internal rows on the future of devolution sparked uproar over the summer recess.
In August, Andrew RT Davies posted a photo to X of a home made ballot box asking visitors to the Vale of Glamorgan show if they thought the Welsh Parliament should be abolished.
Whilst several senior Tory figures lambasted the stunt, Mr James responded to the online criticism with a photo of himself smiling beside the ballot.
His former leader was later pressured by the Tory shadow cabinet to make an official statement rejecting calls for the party’s stance on devolution to change.
But some grass roots members say the majority of the Welsh Conservative membership would like to see the Senedd abolished.
Andrew RT Davies’ top aide George Carroll promised members a ballot on the matter when he stood to become the party’s new chairman.
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.
Despite receiving support from his employer and Mr James, the chairman hopeful was unsuccessful in his bid.
Direction
Andrew RT Davies was later forced to resign from his position as leader amid criticism from his own group about the direction he was taking the party.
Under newly coronated leader Darren Millar, the Welsh Conservatives say they are a pro-Senedd party.
But the row appears to be rumbling on with regular spats breaking out on social media.
In an ITV interview on Monday, Welsh Conservative MS Tom Giffard said there are some members online who were “not doing the party an awful lot of help.”
Speaking on Sharp End he said: “I think if they are true Conservative members, particularly those that hold positions in our party – they need to be really clear, are they with us or are they against us?
“If they are against us then there is no place for them in this party.”
Mr James was invited to comment but did not respond.
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They look in danger of becoming a busted flush in Wales, offering little that is positive, and unsure of their loyalty as regards the Senedd. If Reform UK do well in 2026, it will be owing to a combination of anti-immigration protest votes in the post-industrial regions and partly to defections from a clapped out and increasingly-irrelevant Welsh Tory party.
Joel James should, no, must stand down at the next election if not before. He believes in stamping out our nations’ Parliament and with it our democracy. We cannot have representatives sitting in there who openly declare that they want to destroy these things and therefore expressly work AGAINST the interests of our people. It is time to make members swear allegiance to the people of Cymru and its’ Parliament as a condition of taking their seat.
It’s always fun to watch the Tories in general & in Cymru in particular scratching each other’s eyes out, maybe one of these days they’ll leave the nursery & join the adults in the big play room. I’m not too well up on the constitutional set up of the Senedd, but is there possibly a case for the likes of Arty & his acolytes such as Joel James to be charged with sedition? Now, I am not for one moment suggesting they would go as far as using any form of violence to achieve their aims but they do appear… Read more »
And these dolts wonder why there’s no Wales Tory MPs left. And remember these are the very same hypocrites who argued how Remain voters should accept the will of the people after the 2016 Brexit vote to leave the EU but themselves spent 25 years trying to abolish the Senedd. In a way I’m happy because he, Joel James, along with his former leader Andrew RT Davies , masks have slipped revealing the true ugly face of Welsh Conservatism. And It now shows the Welsh voters what the Welsh Conservatives are all about. Out to destroy what little voice we’ve… Read more »
Who?
One of the most anonymous members of the Senedd.
Written complaint sent to the Conservative party.
Not only should calling for ending democracy be considered a crime, but he should be sacked immediately, and never work in politics again.
Nice work. I was just wondering before I read your comment if being an MS whilst simultaneously advocating for the scrapping of the institution you sit in is a matter for the Standards Commissioner at minimum and furthermore, as you say, to be removed from his role. He should be made an example of.