Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies resigns

The Conservative leader in the Welsh Parliament, Andrew RT Davies, has resigned after narrowly surviving a vote of confidence of his party colleagues.

In a letter Davies said he did so with regret after some of his Members of the Senedd (MSs) had threatened to resign from his frontbench last week if he did not quit.

He won a vote of Tory Senedd members on Tuesday morning, with nine in support – including Davies’ own vote – and seven against.

Davies described his position as “untenable” following the vote and said in his resignation statement that “it was clear from the result that a substantial minority of the group do not support our approach”.

Davies had been leader of the Tories in the Senedd for most of the past 13 years.

It is the first significant resignation of a senior Conservative since Kemi Badenoch became party leader.

In a letter to his Welsh Tory chair Bernard Gentry, he accused party colleagues in the Senedd of undermining him.

He said he would not stand in the forthcoming leadership contest.

In recent months Davies has faced criticism from some Westminster Conservatives about the direction of the party, and whether they were giving voters an alternative vision.

Supporters of Davies say he is taking on the threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, while opponents are concerned the party is not trying to broaden its support.

It comes after a poll at the weekend suggested the Conservatives were in fourth place in Wales, behind Plaid Cymru, Reform and Labour.

The Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales Central has courted controversy with his social media account – In the summer comments about halal meet led to accusations from a Muslim group of “race-baiting”.

Bourne also criticised a message on X which showed Davies asking constituents if they think the Senedd should be abolished.

Davies wrote that his approach would have “united the centre right” in Wales and “won over new support to the Conservative Party”.

“Over recent months, it has become increasingly difficult to take this necessary approach, due to resistance from some members within the Senedd Group,” he said.

“In many cases, it was impossible to offer clarity of message, with statements contradicted publicly by certain members. This made it unclear to the public exactly what the Conservative Party in Wales stands for.”