The Welsh Conservatives (Welsh: Ceidwadwyr Cymreig), also known as the Welsh Conservative Party (Welsh: Plaid Ceidwadwyr Cymreig), 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.[3] In Senedd elections, the Conservatives are currently the second-most supported party but have at times been third. As of 2024[update], they hold none of the 32 Welsh seats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and 16 of the 60 seats in the Senedd.
Welsh Conservatives Ceidwadwyr Cymreig | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Wales | Mims Davies |
| Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group | Darren Millar |
| President | Glyn Davies |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Headquarters | Unit 5 Rhymney House Parc Ty Glas Llanishen Cardiff CF14 5DU |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-right to right-wing[1] |
| Colours | Blue |
| Senedd | 16 / 60 |
| House of Commons (Welsh seats) | 0 / 32 |
| Local government in Wales[2] | 111 / 1,234 |
| Website | |
| www | |
At the 2021 Senedd election, the Welsh Conservatives won eight constituency seats, taking Vale of Clwyd from Welsh Labour and Brecon and Radnorshire from the Welsh Liberal Democrats and 26.1 per cent of the constituency vote across Wales, their best constituency seats results since creation of the Senedd in 1999.
History
edit
This section is missing information about the history of the Welsh Conservatives from 2011-today. (July 2024) |
The Welsh Conservatives were formed (as the Wales and Monmouthshire Conservative and Unionist Council) in 1921 by the merger of the three existing Welsh Provincial Associations of the party's National Union.[4] For much of their history, they were dominated by the party in England, even to the extent of supplying the Welsh Secretaries of State. It was after the establishment of the Assembly in 1999, which their members opposed, that they became more of a Welsh-orientated party. Their first leader, the former Welsh Office Minister Rod Richards, showed a combative style of politics against the Labour government. However Richards resigned shortly after the Assembly had become established in response to allegations of an assault, of which he was later cleared.[5] Nicholas Bourne, a law professor and former leader of the No campaign in the Welsh Assembly referendum, then became the leader, in an unopposed election. From 1999 to 2007, the party remained firmly in opposition in Wales, opposed to forming an alliance with other political parties. This changed after the indecisive 2007 election, when the Welsh Conservatives were briefly involved in coalition talks on a "rainbow coalition" with the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, which collapsed after the Liberal Democrats backed out. Plaid Cymru ruled itself out of joining the Conservatives in a coalition on an ideological basis. Plaid Cymru and Labour eventually formed the government under the terms of their One Wales agreement.[6] As a result of the agreement, the Conservatives, the largest opposition party, became the Official Opposition in the Welsh Assembly.
In the otherwise mainly successful Welsh Assembly elections of 2011, the long serving Welsh Conservative leader, Nicholas Bourne (2000–2011) lost his regional list seat in Mid and West Wales. He had been the longest serving of the party political leaders in the Welsh Assembly. The Preseli Pembrokeshire Assembly Member Paul Davies then became the Interim Leader whilst an election took place. The contest was between Andrew RT Davies (South Wales Central) and Nick Ramsay (Monmouthshire). Andrew RT Davies won with some 53.1 per cent of the vote on a 49 per cent turnout of the party's Welsh membership.[citation needed] Also in the post-May 2011 Welsh Assembly elections period, David Melding (South Wales Central) was elected as the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Welsh Assembly, the first time a Conservative had held this post.
In the 2022 Welsh local elections, the Conservatives lost half their councillors across Wales and lost control of Monmouthshire County Council.[7]
Leadership
editIn the Senedd, the Welsh Conservative Group have their own leader who is often referred to as the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, sometimes including by the leader themselves.[8][9] The Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Senedd has been described as the de facto leader of the Conservative Party in Wales, although the UK party leadership has rejected this claim and criticised the use of the title Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, stating that the UK party leader is the only leader in Wales while the group leader only leads it in the Senedd.[10][11] This lack of recognition has led to calls from senior figures in the Welsh party, including current leader Andrew RT Davies[12][13][14] and current chair Lord Davies of Gower[14] to introduce an official devolved leadership position for the Welsh Conservatives with constitutional recognition from the Conservative Party, like with Welsh Labour and the Scottish Conservatives. This proposal has been criticised by senior figures in the UK party, including former secretary of state for Wales Cheryl Gillan, who described it as "irritating" and a "distraction".[15]
The Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Senedd is usually elected by the party membership. The position was first introduced in November 1998, when a leadership contest was held to elect a leader for the Conservatives in the National Assembly for Wales, now known as the Senedd, ahead of the first elections to the devolved legislature in 1999. The winner of that election was Rod Richards, who was elected as the first leader of the Welsh Conservative Group. He resigned in 1999 after being accused of assault, originally for a temporary period, and appointed his deputy David TC Davies as acting leader. This was overruled shortly after with Nick Bourne taking Davies's place as acting leader, leading Richards to resign in protest. After Richards's resignation, Bourne was officially elected as leader having stood for the position unopposed. He left the role after losing his assembly seat in the 2011 assembly election and Andrew RT Davies was elected to succeed him in that year. Davies resigned in 2018 after being informed that he did not have the confidence of all group members to continue serving in the role, with Paul Davies becoming acting leader until being officially elected as leader later that year. Davies resigned after breaking COVID-19 restrictions in 2021 and Andrew RT Davies was elected as leader for a second time, being elected unopposed for the role. On 3 December 2024, Davies announced he would stand down from the role, after he narrowly won a confidence vote by 9 votes to 7. He said he believed his leadership to be untenable with a substantial minority in the group against him.[16] Darren Millar succeeded Davies two days later, after facing no opposition in the 2024 Welsh Conservatives leadership election.[17]
Electoral performance
editHouse of Commons
edit
| Election | Wales | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | Seats | ||
| 1922 | 21.4 | 6 / 36
|
|
| 1923 | 21.0 | 4 / 36
|
 2
|
| 1924 | 28.3 | 9 / 36
|
 5
|
| 1929 | 21.9 | 1 / 36
|
8
|
| 1931 | 22.1 | 6 / 36
|
5
|
| 1935 | 23.3 | 6 / 36
|
|
| 1945 | 16.5 | 3 / 36
|
3
|
| 1950 | 21.0 | 3 / 36
|
|
| 1951 | 27.6 | 5 / 36
|
2
|
| 1955 | 26.7 | 5 / 36
|
|
| 1959 | 29.6 | 6 / 36
|
1
|
| 1964 | 27.6 | 6 / 36
|
|
| 1966 | 27.0 | 3 / 36
|
3
|
| 1970 | 27.7 | 7 / 36
|
4
|
| Feb 1974 | 25.9 | 8 / 36
|
1
|
| Oct 1974 | 23.9 | 8 / 36
|
|
| 1979 | 32.2 | 11 / 36
|
3
|
| 1983 | 31.0 | 14 / 38
|
3
|
| 1987 | 29.5 | 8 / 38
|
6
|
| 1992 | 28.6 | 6 / 38
|
2
|
| 1997 | 19.6 | 0 / 40
|
6
|
| 2001 | 21.0 | 0 / 40
|
|
| 2005 | 21.4 | 3 / 40
|
3
|
| 2010 | 26.1 | 8 / 40
|
5
|
| 2015 | 27.2 | 11 / 40
|
3
|
| 2017 | 33.6 | 8 / 40
|
3
|
| 2019 | 36.1 | 14 / 40
|
6
|
| 2024 | 18.2 | 0 / 32
|
14
|
Senedd
edit
| Election | Constituency | Regional | Total seats | +/– | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
| 1999 | 162,133 | 15.8 | 1 / 40
|
168,206 | 16.5 | 8 / 20
|
9 / 60
|
Opposition | |
| 2003 | 169,832 | 19.9 | 1 / 40
|
162,725 | 19.2 | 10 / 20
|
11 / 60
|
2
|
Opposition |
| 2007 | 218,730 | 22.4 | 5 / 40
|
209,153 | 21.4 | 7 / 20
|
12 / 60
|
1
|
Opposition |
| 2011 | 237,388 | 25.0 | 6 / 40
|
213,773 | 22.5 | 8 / 20
|
14 / 60
|
2
|
Opposition |
| 2016 | 215,597 | 21.1 | 6 / 40
|
190,846 | 18.8 | 5 / 20
|
11 / 60
|
3
|
Opposition |
| 2021 | 289,802 | 26.1 | 8 / 40
|
278,560 | 25.1 | 8 / 20
|
16 / 60
|
5
|
Opposition |
Local councils
edit
| Election | Votes | % | Councils | +/- | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 84,909 | 12.5 | 0 / 8
|
32 / 502
|
||
| 1995 | 75,448 | 8.1 | 0 / 22
|
|
42 / 1,272
|
10
|
| 1999 | 99,565 | 10.1 | 0 / 22
|
|
75 / 1,270
|
33
|
| 2004 | 99,991 | 11.0 | 1 / 22
|
1
|
107 / 1,263
|
32
|
| 2008 | 148,708 | 15.6 | 2 / 22
|
2
|
165 / 1,270
|
19
|
| 2012* | 108,365 | 12.8 | 0 / 22
|
2
|
105 / 1,235
|
66
|
| 2017 | 182,520 | 18.8 | 1 / 22
|
1
|
184 / 1,271
|
79
|
| 2022 | 145,115 | 15.3 | 0 / 22
|
1
|
111 / 1,231
|
86
|
* The 2012 figures exclude Anglesey, where the election was deferred and held in 2013, although the change in seats and votes shown is a direct comparison between the 2008 and 2012 figures in the 21 councils up for election. The 2017 figures show changes from the 2012 and 2013 elections.
European Parliament
edit| Election | Wales | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | Seats | ||
| 1979 | 36.6 | 1 / 4
|
|
| 1984 | 25.4 | 1 / 4
|
|
| 1989 | 23.5 | 0 / 4
|
1
|
| 1994 | 14.6 | 0 / 5
|
|
| 1999 | 22.8 | 1 / 5
|
1
|
| 2004 | 19.4 | 1 / 4
|
|
| 2009 | 21.2 | 1 / 4
|
|
| 2014 | 17.4 | 1 / 4
|
|
| 2019 | 6.5 | 0 / 4
|
1
|
Appointments
editHouse of Lords
edit| No. | Name | Date Ennobled |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth | 2013 |
| 2. | Lord Harlech | 2021 (Hereditary) |
| 3. | Lord Gilbert of Panteg | 2015 |
| 4. | Lord Colwyn | 1967 (Hereditary) |
| 5. | Lord Davies of Gower | 2019 |
| 6. | Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach | 1991 |
| 7. | Lord Trefgarne of Cleddau | 1962 (Hereditary) |
| 8. | Lord Wolfson of Tredegar | 2021 |
| 9. | Baroness Finn of Swansea | 2015 |
| 10. | Baroness Swinburne | 2023 |
References
edit- ^ Davies-Lewis, Theo (2019). "All three major Welsh parties need new blood at the top". nation.cymru. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
- ^ "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections". www.opencouncildata.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- ^ Jones, B, Welsh Elections 1885 – 1997(1999), Lolfa
- ^ Melding, D, Have We Been Anti-Welsh? The Conservative Party and the Welsh Nation (2005), Cymdeithas Y Kymberiaid
- ^ "Welsh Tory leader resigns". BBC News. 11 August 1999. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
- ^ "Labour agrees historic coalition". BBC News. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
- ^ "Welsh election results 2022: Tories lose their only council". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ Davies, Daniel (16 July 2018). "Stop fussing over Tory leader status, says MP". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Shipton, Martin (3 January 2024). "Andrew RT Davies criticised for falsely claiming he's 'Leader of the Welsh Conservatives'". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Shipton, Martin (28 June 2018). "The story behind Andrew RT Davies' ousting as Welsh Conservative leader". Wales Online. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Welsh Tories should consider breaking away from UK party". Wales Online. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg 'correct not to name' Welsh Tory leader". BBC News. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Convery, Alan (15 July 2016). The territorial Conservative Party: Devolution and party change in Scotland and Wales. Manchester University Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-5261-0054-2.
- ^ a b Pennant, Gareth (3 February 2019). "Byron Davies: Welsh Conservatives leadership clarity needed". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Cheryl Gillan 'irritation' at Conservative Welsh leader proposal". BBC News. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Deans, David (3 December 2024). "Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies resigns". BBC News. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
- ^ Mosalski, Ruth (5 December 2024). "Darren Millar elected as new leader of the Senedd Conservative group". North Wales Live. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
