Millar joined Clwyd North Conservative Association at age 15,and shortly after became chairman. [12]
Local government
In 1999,Millar ran for the Towyn ward on Conwy County Borough Council,and for Towyn and Kinmel Bay town council. [13] He was not elected to the county council, [14] but was elected to the town council. [15] From 2000 to 2001,Millar was mayor of the township of Towyn and Kinmel Bay. [16] [17] He was also a member of Conwy County Borough Council from 2004,the North Wales Police Authority and the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service. [16]
In 2005,he was the sole dissenter to a budget that saw an increase of 5% in the policing budget,and therefore an increase in local council tax. [18]
In 2006,while a member of Conwy Council,Millar was referred to the standards watchdog,after complaints from the Unite,Unison and GMB trade unions about comments he made alleging that staff were abusing or misusing the sick pay system. [19]
Senedd
In the 2003 Senedd election,at age 25, [17] he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate for the Vale of Clwyd.
Millar was first elected to represent Clwyd West in 2007,and was re-elected in the 2011,2016 and 2021 elections.
Third Senedd
In 2006,Millar was selected to contest the Clwyd West seat. During a hustings in April of 2007,Millar allegedly described homosexuality as a sin, [20] [21] and stated he believed that creationism should be taught in science lessons. [22] Millar alleged that he had been misrepresented,and stated that he did not believe anyone should be discriminated against on the basis of sexuality,and stated that "school governors,parents and teachers should have flexibility in their curriculum". [22] [23] He was successfully elected to the Clwyd West seat,unseating the incumbent Labour MS,Alun Pugh. [24] Pugh was the only Cabinet Minister to be defeated in the election. [25]
After his election to the Senedd in 2007,Millar was appointed Shadow Minister for Environment and Planning by Nick Bourne. [26] While in this role he campaigned for targets to reduce emissions, [27] supported the banning of single-use plastic bags, [28] and was supportive of investment in biofuels. [29] He also initially said that fear of flooding must not prevent construction on floodplains,but that "you've also got to look at strengthening our flood defences", [30] but later supported a ban on building on floodplains, [31] and a substantial increase in spending on flood defences.
He was critical of the Welsh Government's provision of free prescriptions,saying it would lead to prescription tourism,and that he was aware of caravan owners who registered with GPs in his constituency to avoid paying charges. [32]
He served in this role until February 2009,when he was moved to be Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government. [33] In November 2010,he was appointed Shadow Minister for Economy and Transport. [34] [35]
Fourth and Fifth Senedds
After his re-election in 2011,he was appointed Shadow Minister for Health by interim leader Paul Davies. [36] [37] He retained this role after Andrew RT Davies was elected leader and formalised the interim Shadow Cabinet,and throughout the remainder of the term. [38] After the 2016 Senedd elections,Millar was appointed Welsh Conservative education spokesperson,as Plaid Cymru became the Official Opposition. [39] In April 2017,he became Shadow Minister for Education,as the Welsh Conservatives returned to opposition. [40]
Millar was discussed as a candidate to replace Andrew RT Davies at the 2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election,but he did not contest the election. [41] After Paul Davies was elected as leader of the Welsh Conservatives,Millar was appointed as Welsh Conservative Chief Whip,Welsh Conservative Policy Director,and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs and International Relations. [42]
