Kemi Badenoch Appoints Mims Davies as Shadow Welsh Secretary

Kemi Badenoch, the new Conservative leader, has appointed Mims Davies as the shadow Welsh secretary. Ms. Davies, who serves as the Tory MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield in the southeast of England, succeeds former Conservative MP Lord Davies of Gower. She expressed that she was “delighted” to assume the position. Davies stated, “My love for Wales is enduring,” and further mentioned her excitement “to be working closely” with the Welsh Conservatives and “standing up for Wales in Westminster once again.” Mims Davies’s background includes studying politics and international relations at Swansea University. In 2018, she held the role of a Wales Office junior minister for a period of three months during Theresa May’s premiership. In a statement posted on X, previously known as Twitter, she conveyed that she was “truly thrilled” to also maintain her role as shadow minister for women within Badenoch’s team. She remarked, “Wales deserves so much better than these two failing Labour governments [in Wales and Westminster] – especially a better NHS, improved education, help for pensioners and actual support for hard working farmers.” The MP had previously discussed her connections to Wales with BBC Wales, mentioning that she had resided in Swansea for nine years and characterized her family as “half Welsh.” Andrew RT Davies, the Tory leader in the Senedd, expressed his welcome for her appointment, stating: “We in Wales are particularly looking forward to working with Mims Davies to make sure we can put an end to Labour rule in Wales as well as in Westminster.” Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru Westminster leader, extended congratulations to Mims Davies “on her appointment as shadow secretary of State for Wales.” However, Roberts further commented: “As the MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield in Sussex, fair play to her for taking one for the team after the Tories failed to hold on to a single Welsh MP. “It just goes to show that, after the general election, Plaid Cymru is the real Welsh opposition to Labour in Westminster.” David Chadwick, the Welsh Liberal Democrat deputy leader, characterized the Tories as a “busted brand in Wales” and asserted that his party was the sole large UK-wide party capable of offering the “decent opposition” to Labour “that Wales needs.”