Andrew RT Davies: A Profile of the Welsh Conservative Leader

Andrew RT Davies has resigned as the leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh Parliament, marking his second departure from the position. He initially assumed the role in 2011, stepping down in 2018 and being succeeded by Paul Davies. Following a three-year hiatus, the politician, who is also a farmer, resumed the leadership in 2021. This recent decision to step down follows a narrow survival in a vote of confidence among the 15 Tory Members of the Senedd (MSs), a situation he described as rendering his position “untenable.” During his tenure as leader of the opposition in the Senedd, he had served longer than five UK Conservative prime ministers and engaged with four Welsh Labour first ministers. In his resignation letter, Mr. Davies alleged that some of his MSs had undermined him. This development occurred after several months of discontent within the Tory group, which serves as the primary opposition to the Welsh Labour government in the Senedd. Within political circles, Mr. Davies is commonly recognized by his middle initials, RT, and for his distinctive manner of speaking; he famously characterized himself as “19 stone of prime Welsh beef.” As a prominent Brexit campaigner, he had led the Conservatives in the Welsh Parliament for the majority of the past 13 years, overseeing the party through two elections. Born in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, Mr. Davies is 56 years old. He was a breech baby, and in 2016, he recounted to BBC Wales’ Daniel Davies that he was “blue when I was born and blue now.” His father, who had previously worked as a bare-knuckle boxer and at fairs, established the family’s farming enterprise. Mr. Davies participated in numerous established agricultural organizations, serving as president of the Young Farmers Club in Llantrisant and as a Welsh delegate on the National Farmers’ Union council. He became a member of the Conservative Party in 1997. Following several campaigns as a Westminster parliamentary candidate, he was elected to the National Assembly for Wales, then known as the Senedd, in 2007. While continuously active in front-line Welsh politics since then, Mr. Davies maintains involvement in the family farm located in St Hilary in the Vale of Glamorgan. He is married and has four children. His initial appointment as Welsh Conservative Senedd leader occurred after the 2011 assembly election, an election in which his predecessor, Nick Bourne, lost his seat. Mr. Davies subsequently triumphed over Monmouth’s Nick Ramsay in the ensuing leadership contest. During his initial period as leader, he frequently encountered disagreements with his party colleagues based at the other end of the M4. A notable instance of this was the dispute in 2014 concerning new income tax powers for Wales. Mr. Davies advocated for these powers to be devolved with fewer restrictions, contrary to the prevailing UK government policy. He instructed his members to oppose the “lockstep” mechanism in a Senedd vote and removed front-bench members who defied him by supporting the UK government’s position that all tax bands should increase or decrease by an identical percentage. In 2016, the Welsh Tory leader diverged from the pro-Remain position of then-Prime Minister David Cameron by endorsing the Leave campaign in the EU referendum. He stated that this decision resulted in his family receiving “quite a bit of abuse.” He emerged as one of the most visible campaigners in the Welsh Brexit campaign, where Wales, mirroring the UK overall, voted 52-48 to exit. Under his leadership, the Conservatives achieved their strongest result in Wales in three decades during the 2015 general election. However, they subsequently lost three seats in the 2016 assembly polls, finishing in third place. He continued in his role, but a 2017 decision to admit former Tory MP Mark Reckless into the Conservative Senedd group caused resentment among senior colleagues. This period was marked by internal briefings, behind-the-scenes disputes, and a text message he was inadvertently included in, which indicated plans for his removal. Ultimately, Mr. Davies resigned voluntarily. Paul Davies assumed the leadership after a subsequent election. However, the former leader maintained an outspoken presence and a high public profile, frequently tweeting and often offering more media commentary than the new leadership. Beyond Wales, Mr. Davies garnered attention in 2016 when he inadvertently stated at a party conference that his party would achieve success with “breakfast” instead of Brexit. He responded to the viral social media reaction with good humor, but later attributed the error to his dyslexia, which caused him to misread his autocue. During the 2021 election, the Conservatives placed second, encountering difficulty in dislodging Mark Drakeford’s Welsh Labour as Covid restrictions were being eased. Subsequently, Mr. Davies guided his party in opposing the Welsh government’s 20mph speed limit. He frequently irritated ministers by labeling it a “blanket” limit, a characterization they deemed misinformation. His use of this phrase was deemed to have brought the Welsh Parliament into disrepute. Notwithstanding the frequent criticism he directed at the former first minister, he appeared visibly emotional in the Senedd when Mark Drakeford officially stepped down, explaining his appreciation for a letter the former Labour leader had sent during a period of Davies’ illness. Following a tense exchange in which Mr. Drakeford expressed anger towards the Conservative, Mr. Davies remarked that people had suggested they must harbor mutual hatred. Potentially clarifying his perspective on his role, he stated to the Senedd: “That is not hate. That is passion, that is conviction, and that is what politics should be about.” In recent months, his activity on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, has generated controversy. A Muslim group accused him of “Islamophobic race-baiting” after he posted about claims that non-halal meat was unavailable at a school, an allegation the school subsequently denied as incorrect. His X account also caused irritation when it displayed him soliciting opinions at an agricultural show, stating he was “keen to find out people’s views” on the potential abolition of the Senedd. This generated a dispute, as the party officially supports the Welsh Parliament’s existence and its responsibilities, despite some Tory members believing Wales would benefit from the Senedd’s absence. One of his predecessors cautioned him against pursuing a “blind alley.” Notwithstanding the X post, Mr. Davies himself has often voiced his support for the institution, though some within his party advocate for its abolition.