Welsh Tories’ leader quits in Airbus storm
After the shock resignation of Andrew RT Davies, David Williamson and Ruth Mosalski look at the potential contenders for the Tory leadership in the Assembly
ANDREW RT Davies has announced he has quit as leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly.
Mr Davies, who represents South Wales Central, made the announcement yesterday morning.
In a statement, he said: “It is with deep regret that I announce that I have today tendered my resignation as leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly.
“This was done in a letter to our group chairman following a meeting this morning of all group members.
“It has been a huge privilege to serve in this position since 2011, after securing the mandate of the party in a ballot of the membership. It is my firm belief that any leader of the assembly group
should secure the same mandate in a full ballot of the grassroots, and I hope that my successor will emerge in that manner.”
Paul Davies has been appointed interim leader.
In a statement, the Preseli Pembrokeshire AM has said he will assume the post immediately.
Paul Davies has served as Deputy Leader of the Welsh Conservative Assembly group since 2011.
He said: “The Assembly group has today appointed me as Interim Leader of the group, following the resignation of Andrew RT Davies this morning. I want to pay tribute to Andrew for his service as Leader of the Welsh Conservative group and Leader of the Opposition since 2011. He’s made a huge contribution to Welsh politics and worked tirelessly to advance the Conservative cause in Wales. I look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.
“Nominations for the permanent post of Leader of the Welsh Conservative Assembly group will open in due course.”
Prime Minister Theresa May has sent her “thanks and best wishes” to Mr Davies.
In a statement, she said: “I would like to send my thanks and best wishes to Andrew as he steps down after seven years as Leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh Assembly.
“Under Andrew’s leadership, the Welsh Conservatives have provided a strong opposition to Labour in Cardiff Bay and a strong voice for the people of Wales, both at home and in Westminster.
“It was a pleasure to join Andrew and the rest of the team at the Welsh Conservative conference last month. I know he will continue to be a passionate champion for the people of South Wales Central in the Assembly, as he has been for more than a decade – and will continue to speak up for the best interests of Wales as we leave the European Union and forge a new role for the whole United Kingdom on the world stage.”
It now means there are leadership battles in Labour, Ukip and the Welsh Conservatives.
Plaid Cymru members are also calling for a leadership contest.
Mr Davies was last week accused by a Government minister of making “inflammatory” comments about the warning of aircraft manufacturer Airbus that it could quit the UK over Brexit, which he dismissed as “hyperbole”.
Airbus, which employs 6,400 people in Wales, has said it may have to reconsider the future of operations in the UK if Britain leaves the single market and customs union.
In response, Mr Davies said the company was “doing a disservice” to the workers which had made it successful, adding: “You’d think that Airbus was the first company to entertain slashing costs and by extension standards – and it doesn’t usually end well. We are getting to the business end of the negotiations, and there is a lot of hyperbole flying around.”
UK defence minister Guto Bebb, who represents the Aberconwy, called on him to retract his “inflammatory” comments, saying: “Shooting the messenger is an unworthy position for a politician to take not least when that politician aspires to
lead a government in Wales.”
In the last General Election, the Tories lost three seats, leaving them with eight and there was friction between the central and Welsh elements of the party.
Labour’s Owen Smith claimed “sensible” Conservatives were “at their wits’ end” and were now “starting to fight back”.
The Pontypridd MP, who supports anti-Brexit Best for Britain campaign, said: “This is just the first casualty in the Tory Brexit war that threatens to drag our whole country down. Mr Davies’ reckless dismissal of the legitimate concerns of Airbus, one of Wales’ most important employers, is the immediate cause of his forced resignation, but it speaks to deeper tensions in the Tory government.” Cardiff South & Penarth’s Labour MP Stephen Doughty, who backs the People’s Vote campaign for a second referendum, said the risk Brexit poses to jobs and investment in Wales “is hitting home”.
“But if Mr Davies has to quit because of his hostility to business telling the truth about the risk Brexit poses – surely the same question should now be asked about Jeremy Hunt and, above all, Boris Johnson,” he added.
“As her own team fight each other in the open in the run-up to Chequers, does Theresa May have the courage to boot the enemies of jobs, business and prosperity from her Cabinet?”
Last year Mr Davies also said that there was a lack of leadership in the Welsh party, saying that while he was the Conservative leader in the
Assembly, there was no overall Welsh leader as there is in Scotland.
On Tuesday he told the Assembly he believed that the Tidal Lagoon should have been given the backing of the UK Government.
In a speech during plenary, he said: “I make no bones about it, I believe a positive decision was what was required yesterday, and I lobbied right up until the last minute to try and achieve that positive decision.
“Regrettably, it did not come through, and I commend everyone, from the Welsh Government right the way across the political divide in this Chamber, and those in civic society and in the business world, who championed the cause of the Swansea tidal lagoon.
“I bitterly regret that a more positive decision was not made yesterday, albeit, it is fair to say, that the numbers were always challenging if you looked at it on the economics of just the raw power that was generated.”
Carwyn Jones has also thanked Mr Davies for his service.
He said: “Despite our obvious political differences, I always found Andrew to be good company, and he never broke the confidences I shared with him as Leader of the Opposition. That is the sign of a decent and honest politician.
“Andrew has made his mark in Welsh politics, and his jovial and larger-than-life personality has always been a breath of fresh air during Assembly proceedings. I wish him well in the future.”
Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns has said that Mr Davies has played a “vital role in holding the Welsh Labour Government to account in the Welsh Assembly since 2011”.
“As leader in the Assembly, he has a robust record of highlighting how a Welsh Conservative Government could deliver a stronger Welsh economy.
“I look forward to continuing to work closely with him on community issues in the Vale of Glamorgan and South Wales Central”.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: “I’d like to thank Andrew RT Davies for the contribution to Welsh politics he’s made as Leader of the Welsh Conservatives since 2011.
“I wish Andrew the best as he returns to the backbenches and hope he enjoys having a little more time to spend with family and friends. Whilst we disagree on many issues like Brexit, any leader who puts their time and energy into trying to make Wales a better place deserves respect.
“I’m sure Andrew will now put all that time and energy into representing his constituents.”
TTHE resignation of Andrew RT Davies as the leader of the Conservatives in the Assembly has sent shockwaves through Welsh politics.
A contest would be a chance for the party to think seriously about its future and how it can plot a path to power.
Are members looking for someone who can work with other parties in a potential coalition if the 2021 elections go well – or are they looking for someone with more charisma to define a place for the party in 21stcentury Wales?
Here are potential contenders to take the party forward into the 2021 elections.
The arrival of Paul Davies as leader would trigger an instant rebranding of the party in the Assembly.
Supporters of the fluent Welshspeaker argue that he has the ability to work across party divides.
It was hard to imagine a Conservative-Plaid Cymru alliance with Andrew RT Davies at the helm, but new possibilities could emerge with the Preseli Pembrokeshire AM in place (especially if a change of leadership in Plaid saw the party today led by Leanne Wood make a bid for centrist voters).
He is softly spoken – definitely not a tub-thumper – and makes public interventions with care.
It is almost unthinkable he would have got into the hot water that the just-resigned leader found himself in after criticising Airbus.
Mr Davies also has a keen understanding of the concerns of Labour voters, representing a constituency that was red on the electoral map until he won it in 2007. He won a majority of 3,930 in 2016.
This experience of having to fight for every vote gives him experience of success and failure. The Tories lost three AMs in 2016 and three MPs in 2017.
Mr Davies served as interim leader in 2011 and he was elected to that role on Wednesday morning. Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay, who was the runner-up in the 2011 contest, has endorsed Mr Davies to lead the party.
This former pupil of Newcastle Emlyn Comprehensive School, who joined Lloyds Bank in 1987 after sitting his A-levels, has momentum at his back. There would be little surprise if instead of fighting a leadership contest he enjoys a coronation.
However, there are critics. A Conservative source said: “This is not the time for a safe pair of hands – or indeed, a man in a beige suit.
“We need a 21st-century politician, that’s vital. The role of Welsh Conservative leader is meaningless without the backing of the membership and we need to have an open and honest debate about the group’s direction.
“If not, what on earth was the point
in this gratuitous act of selfharm?”
Suzy Davies’ career in marketing and management started at Swansea Grand Theatre and there is some speculation she may be considering auditioning for a bigger role on the political stage. A fluent Welsh-speaker, she was born in Swansea, and, as her website puts it, “grew up in Bridgend, Aberdare, Cardiff and Brecon”.
She is willing to stick her head above the parapet and she was one of the Welsh Conservatives’ strongest supporters of the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon. She described the UK government’s rejection of the bid as a “desperately depressing decision for Swansea”.
The former high street solicitor was a founding board member of the Welsh International Film Festival but has been at the forefront of critiquing the Welsh Government’s forays into the movie industry.
The party got a glimpse of what Darren Millar might be like as leader last year when neither Andrew RT Davies nor Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns took part in a televised leader’s debate. Mr Millar stepped in and delivered an assured performance.
He displayed early ambition when at the age of 24 he became Wales’ youngest mayor for Towyn and Kinmel Bay. In 2007 he joined the Assembly and has grown his majority from 1,596 to 5,063. Mr Millar won respect as chairman of the public accounts committee and is now the party’s education spokesman.
An incentive to run would be to have a North Wales AM in a party leadership position in the Assembly. He chairs the Assembly’s cross-party group on faith and in 2015 was commissioned as a minister by the Assemblies of God.
Montgomeryshire was once seen as a bastion for the Liberal Democrats, but Russell George won it in 2011 and has since increased his majority to 3,339. He is not the highest-profile member of the group but he has a reputation as a committed local campaigner.
David Melding (South Wales Central) is respected as a Conservative intellectual who has thought long and hard about the future of the UK; he has served as Deputy Presiding Officer and was awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours. However, he has said he is at his best as “one of life’s lieutenants” and is not thought to crave the leadership.
A coronation would spare the party a bout of uncertainty but the selection of a leader without putting it to the party membership would prove controversial.