Gareth Davies | |
---|---|
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism, Sport, and North Wales | |
Assumed office 12 December 2024 | |
Leader | Darren Millar |
Preceded by | Laura Anne Jones |
Shadow Minister for Mental Health an Early Years | |
In office 18 April 2024 –5 December 2024 | |
Leader | Andrew RT Davies |
Preceded by | James Evans |
Succeeded by | Joel James |
Shadow Minister for Social Services | |
In office 27 May 2021 –18 April 2024 | |
Leader | Andrew RT Davies |
Preceded by | Angela Burns |
Succeeded by | Altaf Hussain |
Member of the Senedd for Vale of Clwyd | |
Assumed office 7 May 2021 | |
Preceded by | Ann Jones |
Majority | 366 |
Personal details | |
Born | Gareth Lloyd Davies 17 September 1988 St Asaph,Denbighshire,Wales |
Nationality | Welsh,British |
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse | Catrin Jones |
Children | 1 |
Residence(s) | Rhyl,Prestatyn |
Education | Ysgol Bryn Hedydd,Rhyl,Rydal Penrhos 1996–2005 Coleg Llandrillo Cymru Bangor University |
Occupation | NHS worker (2010–21) Denbighshire County Councillor (2017–22) Member of the Senedd (2021– |
Committees | Welsh Parliament Culture,Communications,Welsh Language,Sport,and International Relations Committee |
Portfolio | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture,Tourism,Sport,and North Wales |
Website | https://www.garethdavies.wales/ |
Gareth Lloyd Davies (born 17 September 1988) is a Welsh Conservative politician who has been Member of the Senedd (MS) for Vale of Clwyd since 2021. [1] He is the first Conservative to win this seat since its establishment in 1999. [2] [3]
Born in 1988,Davies is the son of Steven and Susan Davies. He attended Rydal Penrhos Senior School and Coleg Llandrillo Cymru. From 2010 to 2021,Davies worked in learning disability and mental health nursing,and physiotherapy for the NHS in Flintshire,North Wales. [1]
In 2017, [4] he was elected to Denbighshire County Council,representing the Prestatyn South West ward. He also serves the Prestatyn South West ward on Prestatyn Town Council. [5] He was elected to the Welsh Parliament,known as the Senedd,to represent the Vale of Clwyd constituency on 7 May 2021. [2] [3] He continued to sit as a Denbighshire County Councillor until 2022. In May 2021,he was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Social Services and elected to the Senedd's Health and Social Care Committee. [6] Following a Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle in April 2024,Davies was appointed Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Early years. [7] He maintained this role until Andrew RT Davies stood down as leader of the Welsh Conservatives in December 2024,whereupon his successor Darren Millar appointed him Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture,Tourism,Sport,and North Wales. [8] He also now sits on the Senedd's Culture,Communications,Welsh Language,Sport,and International Relations Committee. [9]
On 30 June 2021,Davies delivered the first Members Legislative proposal of the 6th Senedd. [10] He proposed new legislation which would ensure a rights-based approach to services for older people in Wales. His proposal won the backing of Senedd Members, [11] despite opposition from Welsh Government.
In October 2021,there was a vote in the Senedd for the introduction of vaccine passports in Wales. Davies missed the chance to vote in-person as he was at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester,and so attempted to cast his vote against the measure via Zoom. [12] He was unable to do so, [13] and the motion passed by a single vote,28 votes to 27. [14]
In March 2023 Davies caused controversy after stating in the Senedd that there are "too many" Gypsy and Traveller sites in North Wales and adding that,"The simple message is that we don't want them". He was asked to "rethink" his comments by Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt. His remarks were also condemned by gypsy and traveller advocates. [15] Davies subsequently apologised for his remarks. [16]
He has openly discussed serving as a politician with bipolar disorder,having been diagnosed a year prior his election to the Senedd in 2021. [17] He is also an ambassador for the charity Bipolar UK and an advocate for ending the stigma surrounding mental illness. [18]
In 2018,Davies married Catrin Jones;the couple have a son. Outside of politics,he enjoys football,rugby,cricket,running and mountaineering. [1]
Denbighshire is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north,Flintshire to the east,Wrexham to the southeast,Powys to the south,and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town,and Ruthin is the administrative centre. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name.
Laura Anne Jones is a Conservative politician who has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the South Wales East electoral region since July 2020,having previously held the same seat as an Assembly Member (AM) in the National Assembly for Wales between 2003 and 2007. Jones also served as a county councillor for the Wyesham ward in Monmouthshire County Council from 2017 to 2022.
The Vale of Clwyd was a constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament created in 1997. As with all seats it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system at least every five years.
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Denbighshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Denbighshire,one of the principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Ruthin.
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The Welsh Conservatives,also known as the Welsh Conservative Party,is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At Westminster elections,it is the second-most popular political party in Wales by vote share,having obtained the second-largest share of the vote at every general election since 1931. In Senedd elections,the Conservatives are currently the second-most supported party but have at times been third. As of 2024,they hold none of the 32 Welsh seats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom,and 16 of the 60 seats in the Senedd.
Andrew Robert Tudor Davies CBE is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of the Senedd for the South Wales Central region since 2007.
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James Michael Davies is a British Conservative Party politician and medical doctor who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Vale of Clwyd from 2019 to 2024,having previously held the seat from 2015 to 2017. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales between October 2022 and November 2023.
Peter Alan Fox OBE is a British Conservative politician who is the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Rural Affairs in the Senedd. Fox was Leader of Monmouthshire County Council from 2008 until May 2021,when he was elected as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for the Monmouth constituency.
Paul Davies became the Leader of the Opposition in Wales after being elected as Leader of the Welsh Conservatives on 27 June 2018 and named his Shadow Cabinet in July.
Rhodri Mabon ap Gwynfor is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician who has been Member of the Senedd (MS) for Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2021. He has served as Plaid Cymru's Health,Social Care and Housing Spokesperson and Chief Whip since June 2023.
James Evans is a Welsh Conservative Party politician and farmer,who has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Brecon and Radnorshire since the 2021 Senedd election,as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since December 2024. He previously served as councillor for Gwernyfed ward on Powys County Council.
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Andrew RT Davies became the Leader of the Opposition in Wales after the 2021 Senedd election,when the Welsh Conservatives became the second largest party in the Senedd,with 16 seats.
Town and County Councillor for South West Prestatyn (2017–2022)