Andrew RT Davies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of theWelsh Conservative Group in theSenedd | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 24 January 2021 – 5 December 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader | Boris Johnson Liz Truss Rishi Sunak Kemi Badenoch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Darren Millar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 14 July 2011 – 27 June 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Paul Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader | David Cameron Theresa May | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Nick Bourne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Paul Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 7 May 2021 – 5 December 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Mark Drakeford Vaughan Gething Eluned Morgan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Himself[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Darren Millar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 24 January 2021 – 29 March 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Mark Drakeford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Himself[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 6 April 2017 – 27 June 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Leanne Wood[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Paul Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 14 July 2011 – 5 May 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Minister | Carwyn Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Paul Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Leanne Wood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of the Senedd forSouth Wales Central | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 3 May 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jonathan Morgan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theVale of Glamorgan Council forRhoose | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 15 February 2019 – 5 May 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Matthew Lloyd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 772 (41.66%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Andrew Robert Tudor Davies (1968-11-28)28 November 1968 (age 56) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Conservative | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Andrew Robert Tudor DaviesCBE (born 28 November 1968) is aWelsh politician who has served asMember of the Senedd for theSouth Wales Central region since 2007.
He has previously served as Leader of theWelsh Conservative Senedd Group from 2011 to 2018[2][3][4] and 2021 to 2024.[5][6][7] Both times Davies resigned due to pressure from within his party to do so. As a consequence of being leader of the Welsh Conservatives, he has served a total of four terms asLeader of the Opposition, from hisfirst from 2011 to 2016, hissecond from 2017 to 2018, histhird from January-March 2021 and hisfourth and final from May 2021-2024.
Andrew Robert Tudor Davies[8][9] was educated at Llanfair Primary School, St John's Preparatory School,Porthcawl, and later boarded atWycliffe College,Stroud.[10] He is married to a qualifiedmidwife and they have four children.[10] He is a partner in the family farming business based inSt Hilary nearCowbridge in theVale of Glamorgan.[11] Davies was a Welsh delegate on the Council of theNational Farmers Union (NFU),[2] vice-president of the local Young Farmers Club, and is a former chairman of Creative Communities,[12] which seeks to develop structural community development. Davies is also a life governor of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, and was the Society'sOxford Farming Conference Scholar in 2002.[12] He is a former governor at Llanfair Primary School.[13]
Joining the Conservative Party in 1997, Davies foughtCardiff West in the2001 general election,[14] andBrecon and Radnorshire in2005.[15] He served as Deputy Chairman (Political) for the Conservative Party inSouth Wales Central from 2002 to 2003, a region that comprises the Conservative Associations in Cardiff, Rhondda Cynon Taff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Between 2004 and 2005 he was Deputy Chairman of the Cardiff West Conservative Association.
In2007, he was elected to the National Assembly of Wales on the South Wales Central regional list.[16] He was appointed Shadow Minister for Transport byNick Bourne.[17][18][19] During his time as Shadow Transport Minister he supported protests from Welsh hauliers over the cost of fuel.[20]
On 16 June 2008 he was reshuffled to the role of Shadow Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills.[18][21][19] While in this role, he supported the removal of the flat-rate financial support grant at the time provided to Welsh people who studied at Welsh universities,[22] and criticised that both spending and achievement were lagging behind English counterparts.[23]
He also sat on the Assembly's Petitions Committee and the Subordinate Legislation Committee.[19]
In February 2009 he became the Shadow Minister for Health in the National Assembly for Wales.[19][21] He then resigned from the role in November 2010, shortly after a wider reshuffle.[24] He claimed at the time of his resignation he was not seeking the leadership of the Welsh Conservative Group.[24]
He won an award for being "Assembly Member to Watch" in December 2008.[12][25]
Davies was re-elected as AM for South Wales Central at the2011 Welsh Assembly election.[26] A leadership election was held afterNick Bourne lost his seat at that election. RT Davies contested this leadership election, and was elected as Leader of theWelsh Conservative Group on 14 July 2011, having won 53.1 per cent of the vote, defeatingNick Ramsay.[27] He then becameLeader of the Opposition in Wales, as the Welsh Conservatives were the second largest party,[28] and appointed his Shadow Cabinet.[29]
In February 2014, Davies removed four ministers;Nick Ramsay,Antoinette Sandbach,Mohammad Asghar andJanet Finch-Saunders, from his cabinet over a vote on tax-varying powers for the Welsh Assembly. The four ministers failed to support a motion condemning the choice of the lock-step model for devolution of taxation, which would not allow Wales to increase the rate of tax paid on any specifictax band - instead requiring any change to be made to all of them. They were removed from their roles despite this being the policy of the UK Conservative Party.[30]
After the2016 Welsh Assembly election, Davies was re-elected but ceased to be Leader of the Opposition, as the Welsh Conservatives became the third largest party.[31][32] Davies became Leader of the Opposition again in April 2017, afterMark Reckless rejoined the Welsh Conservative Senedd group, making the Welsh Conservatives the second largest group in the Senedd again.[33] RT Davies was criticised for allowing Reckless to rejoin the group, withByron Davies, then Conservative MP forGower describing it as "not a particularly bright idea," and Wales SecretaryAlun Cairns clarifying that Reckless had not been allowed to become a member of the Conservative Party, and was only a member of the Conservative Senedd Group.[33]
In June 2018,Wales Online led an investigation into what they described as Davies keeping his "public constituency office hidden from the public".[34] The piece stated the office was located in a "wooden cabin 50 yards beyond a vehicle security barrier on a rural farm estate".[34] In a freedom of information response by the Assembly Commission,[34] the address of the office was confirmed as Penllyn Estate, Llwynhelig, Cowbridge CF71 7FF,[34] a 1,200-acre mixed farm operation. The information only came to light after the FOI request by a Conservative Party member.[34] A spokesperson for Davies responded to the investigation by stating the arrangements had been made "following a security incident at Andrew’s previous office on Cowbridge High Street where police attended to support a female employee",[34] necessitating a more secure location. They continued stating that "Andrew regularly hosts constituents and organisations at his office and if he knew a Western Mail journalist had intended to visit he would’ve been there to welcome him with the kettle on".[34]
Davies responded to concerns raised byAirbus in June 2018 regarding the threat of ano-deal Brexit by stating that "there is a lot of hyperbole flying around" regarding a no deal Brexit. The comments were criticised by Conservative figures includingGuto Bebb.[35] Bebb went on to dispute Davies title as "Leader of the Welsh Conservatives", stating he only led the Assembly group.[35] Secretary of StateAlun Cairns described Airbus' comments as a "wake-up call" for "one of the jewels in the crown of UK manufacturing".[35] A number of Davies' Welsh Conservative colleagues, including Secretary of StateAlun Cairns, Mr Davies' Deputy,Paul Davies, and Monmouth AMNick Ramsay, were all Remain supporters, in contrast to Davies role as aVote Leave voice in the Welsh Conservatives.[36]
In Spring 2018, a text was reportedly sent by Cairns which discussed with Welsh Conservative AMs how and when to remove Davies.[37] Davies initially only stated that a figure in Westminster had sent the text, but refused to name the individual.[38] This text was reportedly sent to Davies by accident, describing how "the other end of the M4" were in support of his replacement.[37]
In around April 2018, it was rumoured that his Deputy LeaderPaul Davies was planning a leadership challenge to Davies.[36] Amid internal discussions in the party, Nick Ramsay reportedly made it clear to Mr Davies that they did not like each other prior to his resignation,[36] and an AM reportedly "stormed out" of a dinner regarding the leadership of the party after Davies had spoken, who later was reported to be Ramsay.[39]
Davies resigned as Leader of the Welsh Conservatives on 27 June 2018.[40] A source close to Davies described the events at the time as "the revenge of Tory Remainers who can’t forgive him for going against Cameron and campaigning for a Leave vote in the Brexit referendum."[36] Davies resignation was viewed by some in the media as sparked by Davies' "inflammatory remarks" towards Airbus.[39] Sources close to Davies however spoke to the media and stated they felt he had been victim of "a plot to get rid of him for "seven or eight weeks"[36] dating back to his controversial "decision to back a Leave vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum" which came against the wishes of then Prime MinisterDavid Cameron, who had backed Remain.[36]
RT Davies was appointed as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Sustainability, and Rural Affairs by Paul Davies in September 2018.[41] In the role RT Davies led criticism ofNatural Resources Wales in November 2018, particularly around their selling of timber on a closed rather than open market.[42] He proposed splitting NRW into two separate bodies, and described the "bloated and largely incompetent quango" body as "no longer fit for purpose".[42]Plaid agriculture spokesmanLlyr Gruffydd however stated the issues faced by NRW were down to the 35% real terms cut in their budget and the organisation being under resourced.[42]
In 2019, Davies was reported byWales Online as having the highest budget for constituency office spending of any AM in the five Assembly political groups, with a spend of £102,655, including £35,182 for a salary for his wife Julia. Davies did not respond to requests for comments in the piece.[43]
In a June 2019 op-ed onNation.Cymru, Davies stated his top wishes from an incoming Conservative prime minister for Wales would be:[44]
In July 2020, RT Davies was reshuffled from Shadow Environment Minister to Shadow Health Minister.[46]
Following thestorming of the United States Capitol by supporters ofDonald Trump on 6 January 2021, Davies was criticised for comparing the riot to other British politicians'opposition to Brexit.[47]
RT Davies was appointed as Leader of theWelsh Conservatives Group on 24 January 2021,[6] following the resignation ofPaul Davies, after a scandal involving possible breaches of Welsh COVID-19 regulations.[48] He quickly appointed a Shadow Cabinet on the same day.[49] This ceased to be the Shadow Cabinet on 29 March 2021, afterNick Ramsay left the Welsh Conservatives to contest the2021 Senedd election as an independent.[50] In the 2021 Senedd election, the Welsh Conservatives received 16 seats.[51] Davies stated his intention to remain as leader of the Welsh Conservatives after this result.[52]
In a July 2021 op-ed forMail+, Davies accused the Welsh media of being "in hock to thenationalist agenda". He wrote: "This is what's in store for us in the Senedd over the next five years: listening to Labour ministers regurgitate historically ignorant, politically extreme ideas and a demonstrably poor understanding of sovereignty in Britain as they call for a federalist system that will only serve to worsen, not solve, the issues present in Wales."[53]
Davies took a leave of absence from September to December 2021, citing the impact that bouts ofCOVID-19 and the flu had had on his mental wellbeing.[54][55]
During his leadership, he opposed the changing of the default urban speed limit from 30mph to 20mph, being censured by the Senedd standards committee for bringing the Senedd into disrepute by inaccurately[56] describing the policy as blanket.[57] He also opposed the continued tenure ofVaughan Gething as First Minister,[58] and called for further investigation and publication of evidence with regard to the firing ofHannah Blythyn.[59][60] His leadership was increasingly described aspopulist.[55][61]
On 24 July 2024, Davies wrote an article for the website ofGB News entitled "Children SHOULD NOT be forced to eat Halal school lunches", referring to a story from a member of the public who had allegedly been told that there was no non-halal meat options at their child's school.[62] He had further written toVale of Glamorgan Council, who were responsible for the school.[63] The school later confirmed that Davies assertion that only halal meat options were available was false, and that non-halal meat options were available,[64][65] and Vale of Glamorgan Council Leader Lis Burnett stated that Davies had publicly published the letter 5 minutes after sending it to the council, providing no time for a response.[66] However, his false allegations were promoted by far-right activistTommy Robinson and gained large social media attention during early stages of the2024 United Kingdom riots.[64][67]
Davies' initial article and letter were described as "ham-fisted attempts at dog-whistle racism" and "Islamophobic race-baiting" by the Muslim Council of Wales.[64][67] He also faced further criticism from within his own party, with Muslim MSNatasha Asghar saying she had "raised concerns" directly with Davies about his statements[68] and Shadow Finance MinisterPeter Fox and former leader of the Welsh ConservativesNick Bourne both making statements about Islamophobia in the party.[64][69][70] Davies responded by saying "These were legitimate questions and as an elected member, I fulfilled my responsibilities by asking them. Attempts to equate those legitimate concerns with the disorder we’ve seen on our streets is particularly irresponsible. Just as the thuggery we’ve seen cannot be justified by legitimate concerns on political issues, those same concerns must not be ignored by political leaders."[64]
Davies faced further public criticism from within his party after he polled attendees of the Vale of Glamorgan show on whether the Senedd should be abolished, with several members of Shadow Cabinet publicly criticising the poll, with former party leadersPaul Davies andNick Bourne both questioning why a policy that is not formally party policy was being polled.[71]
In October 2024, Davies was censured by the Senedd Standards of Conduct Committee, after having been found to have breached the Senedd's Code of Conduct by describing Wales' reduction of the default speed limit in built up areas from 30 to 20 as a "blanket" policy.[56][57] His colleague and Shadow Transport MinisterNatasha Asghar had been reprimanded prior to this for the same matter.[57] He was also found to have breached the Code of Conduct over a tweet in which posted an image from an article fromGuido Fawkes, containing First MinisterVaughan Gething and of a pregnant woman with the text "Welsh Government press release celebrates ‘birthing people.’ Wales makes womb for ‘birthing people.'" The Senedd Standards Committee found his tweet to be "a blatant lie", but did not say that any further action in relation to the breach of the Code of Conduct was warranted.[57][72]
In November 2024, he faced similar criticism for his allegation that the Wales Anti-racism action plan contained a call for "dog-free areas" in the Welsh Countryside, based on an article in the Daily Mail which made the same claim.[73][74] The Welsh Government described this as "inaccurate and a complete misrepresentation" of the report. Climate Cymru Ethnic Minorities - who were responsible for the portion of the report the line was included described it as being “out of context, misrepresented and used as clickbait to drive engagement.”[74] Climate Cymru Ethnic Minorities asked Davies to remove his tweet about the matter on this basis, and he refused, stating he "[made] no apologies for opposing labour's divisive “Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan”."[75] Climate Cymru and Climate Cymru Ethnic Minorities reported harassment after Davies made the claim.[76]
On 28 November 2024, it was reported byNation.Cymru that Davies had been asked to step down by members of the Welsh Conservative group.[77] Later that same day it was reported thathe would face a confidence vote in the Welsh Conservative group meeting on Tuesday 3 December.[78][79] He survived the confidence vote, reportedly with the support of 9 out of 16 members, including his own.[80][81] The vote was not held as asecret ballot, instead as a show of hands, after a motion by Davies and seconded byLaura Anne Jones.[82] Shortly after the vote, Davies resigned as leader of the Welsh Conservatives, stating he viewed his position as untenable, after a number of members of the Conservative Shadow Cabinet privately threatened to resign if he remained in post.[7][81][61] He formally left the role on 5 December 2024, after his replacementDarren Millar was elected unanimously within the Welsh Conservative group.[83][84]
Davies was elected as a County Councillor forRhoose in a by-election on 14 February 2019,[85] and claimed a basic councillor allowance of £13,868 before expenses,[86] alongside his salary as a Senedd Member. He did not contest the 2022 local elections.[87]
During theBrexit referendum campaign, Davies suggested Wales would be better off financially outside theEuropean Union, stating that if the UK voted to leave, it could mean "Wales could be as much as half a billion pounds a year better off".[88]
In a July 2016 interview with WalesOnline, Davies insisted that, as a result of Brexit "Wales must not lose a penny of the money that has historically flowed into Wales".[89] However, after the referendum, theSecretary of State for WalesAlun Cairns, confirmed that the UK Government would in fact reduce the amount allocated for Wales (which the European Union had earmarked at £1.9 billion for the period 2014 to 2020).[90]
In the run-up to the UK'sinvocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, Davies claimed that theWelsh Government should be denied the right to be part ofBrexit negotiations on devolved areas.[91]
Despite his firm anti-EU stance, Davies' family firm TJ Davies and Sons had accepted a total of £96,808.89 in EU subsidies over the period 16 October 2013 to 15 October 2014 alone, including £70,930.63 allocated under the Single Area payment scheme, £24,099.86 in agro-environmental payments, and £1,728.40 from the first Afforestation of Agricultural Land scheme.[92] Commenting on the revelation of these figures,Britain Stronger in Europe spokesman James McGrory said "taking money from Europe while saying we should leave is hypocrisy of the first order."[93]
In September 2019, Davies criticised proposals by the Liberal Democrats, Labour, and other parties which would force Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek an extension to Article 50 if it prevented a no deal exit from the European Union. He described the avoidance of Brexit on 31 October as a "betrayal of democracy".[94] He criticised First Minister Mark Drakeford for recalling the Welsh Assembly to debate Brexit, stating that the decision would "achieve nothing", and joined Conservative ministers in voting against a motion criticising the UK Government's handling of a no deal exit.[95]
Davies has frequently been critical of further devolution to the Senedd. In 2022, he called on candidates in theJuly–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election to pledge that they would not grant further powers to Senedd.[96] In 2024, he polled attendees of the Vale of Glamorgan County show on whether the Senedd should be abolished, prompting criticism from members of his own party.[97]
However, he has supported some policies that would increase Senedd powers, including supporting the ability of the Senedd to raise taxes on individual tax brackets independently, rather than in 'lock-step' as proposed by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2014.[98]
Davies was made aCommander of the Order of British Empire (CBE) in the2020 New Year Honours, "for political and public service".[99]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| Senedd | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Senedd forSouth Wales Central 2007–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| New office | Shadow Minister for Transport 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills 2008–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister for Health 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition in Wales 2011–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Leanne Wood | Leader of the Opposition in Wales 2017–2018 | Succeeded by Paul Davies |
| Preceded by Paul Davies | Leader of the Opposition in Wales 2021–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Nick Bourne | Leader of theWelsh Conservatives 2011–2018 | Succeeded by Paul Davies Acting |
| Preceded by Paul Davies | Leader of the Welsh Conservatives 2021–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Leaders |
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|---|---|
| Deputy Leaders |
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| Leadership elections | |
| Shadow cabinets |
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| Current Members of the Senedd (14 of 60) | |
