Early political career
Joining the Conservative Party in 1997,Davies fought Cardiff West in the 2001 general election, [14] and Brecon and Radnorshire in 2005. [15] He served as Deputy Chairman (Political) for the Conservative Party in South 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.
Third Senedd (2007-2011)
In 2007,he was elected to the National Assembly of Wales on the South Wales Central regional list. [16] He was appointed Shadow Minister for Transport by Nick 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]
First leadership of the Welsh Conservative Group
Davies was re-elected as AM for South Wales Central at the 2011 Welsh Assembly election. [26] A leadership election was held after Nick Bourne lost his seat at that election. RT Davies contested this leadership election,and was elected as Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group on 14 July 2011,having won 53.1 per cent of the vote,defeating Nick Ramsay. [27] He then became Leader 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 and Janet 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 specific tax 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 the 2016 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,after Mark 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,with Byron Davies,then Conservative MP for Gower describing it as "not a particularly bright idea," and Wales Secretary Alun 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]
Resignation
Davies responded to concerns raised by Airbus in June 2018 regarding the threat of a no-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 including Guto 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 State Alun 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 State Alun Cairns,Mr Davies' Deputy,Paul Davies,and Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay,were all Remain supporters,in contrast to Davies role as a Vote 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 Leader Paul 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 Minister David Cameron,who had backed Remain. [36]
Inter-leadership career
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 of Natural 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 spokesman Llyr 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 by Wales 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 on Nation.Cymru,Davies stated his top wishes from an incoming Conservative prime minister for Wales would be: [44]
- A "shared prosperity fund" replacing the Joint Ministerial Committee.
- A "significant investment in Welsh infrastructure projects" to make up for previous rejections including the M4 Relief Road and tidal lagoon,through a "Green Deal".
- A "broadband revolution".
- The "devolution of air passenger duty" for Cardiff Airport.
- The restructuring of the Wales Office.
- Welsh representation on national and cross border bodies,to respond to the issues such as where the Countess of Chester hospital rejected Welsh patients. [45]
- Welsh figures on regulators such as OFGEM,OFCOM,and Ofwat.
In July 2020,RT Davies was reshuffled from Shadow Environment Minister to Shadow Health Minister. [46]
Following the storming of the United States Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump on 6 January 2021,Davies was criticised for comparing the riot to other British politicians' opposition to Brexit. [47]
Second leadership of the Welsh Conservative Group
RT Davies was appointed as Leader of the Welsh Conservatives Group on 24 January 2021, [6] following the resignation of Paul 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,after Nick Ramsay left the Welsh Conservatives to contest the 2021 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 for Mail+ ,Davies accused the Welsh media of being "in hock to the nationalist 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 of COVID-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 of Vaughan Gething as First Minister, [58] and called for further investigation and publication of evidence with regard to the firing of Hannah Blythyn. [59] [60] His leadership was increasingly described as populist. [55] [61]
2024 leadership crisis
On 24 July 2024,Davies wrote an article for the website of GB 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 to Vale 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 activist Tommy Robinson and gained large social media attention during early stages of the 2024 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 MS Natasha Asghar saying she had "raised concerns" directly with Davies about his statements [68] and Shadow Finance Minister Peter Fox and former leader of the Welsh Conservatives Nick 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 leaders Paul Davies and Nick 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 Minister Natasha 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 from Guido Fawkes,containing First Minister Vaughan 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]
Late 2024 confidence vote and resignation
On 28 November 2024,it was reported by Nation.Cymru that Davies had been asked to step down by members of the Welsh Conservative group. [77] Later that same day it was reported that he 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 a secret ballot,instead as a show of hands,after a motion by Davies and seconded by Laura 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 replacement Darren Millar was elected unanimously within the Welsh Conservative group. [83] [84]
