Welsh Tory leader denies he’s a ‘Boris Johnson puppet’

The leader of the Welsh Tories has denied he’s Boris Johnson’s “puppet”.

Andrew RT Davies insisted on the S4C politics show Y Byd yn ei Le that he’s “always stood up for Wales when it’s counted”.

But he added that he believes that the “most positive thing is cooperation”, and cited the contentious issue of the M4 relief road where it was possible to do that.

The Welsh Government has decided not to move forward with the project, and the UK Government has threatened to overrule it and build the road anyway.

It was put to the Welsh Conservative leader by presenter Guto Harri that he was a “Boris puppet” in Cardiff Bay “doing whatever the master tells you to do from Downing Street”.

Andrew RT Davies replied: “I’m Andrew RT Davies. Anybody who looks at my record and my engagement with colleagues… if you look at my record I’ve always stood up for Wales when it’s counted.

“When we had a disagreement with the UK parliament, with the UK government, back when tax raising powers were discussed, I sacked four of my members of the cabinet, the shadow cabinet, because they didn’t support the Welsh Conservative line.

“I will always put Wales’ interest first. But actually I think the most positive thing is cooperation, and working together to achieve the best deal possible for Wales and the M4 relief road is a good case in point where we can work together to get that built.”

‘Damaging to Wales’ 

Guto Harri said: “But if he was going to do something you thought was damaging to Wales, you would tell him and you would stand up to him, and you would use all the powers in your possession?”

Andrew RT Davies said: “Anybody who knows Andrew RT Davies knows that I’ll always stand up for the best interests of Wales, and the community I represent. I’ve always done that. my political record shows that, and if I’m given the good fortune of being First Minister of Wales, I will continue to do that.”

A Plaid Cymru MP recently called Andrew RT Davies a “biddable puppet for string-puller Boris”, who would be an unsuitable choice for the First Minister of Wales.

Liz Saville-Roberts said that the Conservatives would operate the Welsh Government as a “branch office” of the UK Government and that their approach to Covid-19 had been “reckless”.

“To be respected in office, you must first prove that you respect that office,” Liz Saville-Roberts wrote in the Sunday Times.

“Every utterance from the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives throughout this campaign to date has suggested that he is incapable of doing just that.

“Andrew RT Davies’ recent cavalier call to end all social distancing in Wales by June with no scientific evidence to boot, is an unsettling reminder of the reckless approach he is so willing to adopt in pursuit of political gain.

“Picture it – a First Minister unwilling to put Wales first. A politician who wants power for himself, not the powers required to change things for the better. A biddable puppet for string-puller Boris.

“The Conservative party may be willing to operate as the branch office of a London headquarters, but we cannot – we must not – allow our parliament to face the same fate in their hands.”