Welsh Conservatives

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Welsh Conservatives
Ceidwadwyr Cymreig
Secretary of State for WalesDavid TC Davies
Leader of the Welsh Conservative GroupAndrew RT Davies
PresidentLord Davies of Gower
Founded1921
HeadquartersUnit 5
Rhymney House
Parc Ty Glas
Llanishen
Cardiff
CF14 5DU
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right to right-wing[1]
ColoursBlue
Senedd
16 / 60
House of Commons (Welsh seats)
14 / 40
Local government in Wales[2]
111 / 1,234
Website
www.conservatives.wales

The Welsh Conservatives (Welsh: 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, 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. They hold 14 of the 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, and 16 of the 60 seats in the Senedd.

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% of the constituency vote across Wales, their best constituency seats results since creation of the Senedd in 1999.

History[edit]

Welsh Conservative Group office in the Senedd building

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 Assembly came to be established in 1999, which their members opposed, that they adjusted to becoming 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. Richards subsequently resigned shortly after the Assembly had become established in response to allegations of an assault, from 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 election that was unopposed. From 1999 to 2007, the party remained firmly in opposition in Wales, opposed to forming an alliance with other political parties. This changed in 2007 when the Welsh Conservatives were briefly involved in coalition talks after the indecisive 2007 election 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 having a coalition with the Conservatives 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 Blanket 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 for 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[edit]

In 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. As of 2024, he continues to serve as Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Senedd.

Electoral performance[edit]

House of Commons[edit]

Performance of the Welsh Conservatives at the 2019 general election
Election Wales +/–
% Seats
1922 21.4
6 / 36
1923 21.0
4 / 36
 Decrease 2
1924 28.3
9 / 36
 Increase 5
1929 21.9
1 / 36
 Decrease 8
1931 22.1
6 / 36
 Increase 5
1935 23.3
6 / 36
 Steady
1945 16.5
3 / 36
 Decrease 3
1950 21.0
3 / 36
 Steady
1951 27.6
5 / 36
 Increase 2
1955 26.7
5 / 36
 Steady
1959 29.6
6 / 36
 Increase 1
1964 27.6
6 / 36
 Steady
1966 27.0
3 / 36
 Decrease 3
1970 27.7
7 / 36
 Increase 4
Feb 1974 25.9
8 / 36
 Increase 1
Oct 1974 23.9
8 / 36
 Steady
1979 32.2
11 / 36
 Increase 3
1983 31.0
14 / 38
 Increase 3
1987 29.5
8 / 38
 Decrease 6
1992 28.6
6 / 38
 Decrease 2
1997 19.6
0 / 40
 Decrease 6
2001 21.0
0 / 40
 Steady
2005 21.4
3 / 40
 Increase 3
2010 26.1
8 / 40
 Increase 5
2015 27.2
11 / 40
 Increase 3
2017 33.6
8 / 40
 Decrease 3
2019 36.1
14 / 40
 Increase 6

Senedd[edit]

Performance of the Welsh Conservatives at the 2021 Senedd election
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
 Increase 2 Opposition
2007 218,730 22.4
5 / 40
 209,153 21.4
7 / 20
12 / 60
 Increase 1 Opposition
2011 237,388 25.0
6 / 40
 213,773 22.5
8 / 20
14 / 60
 Increase 2 Opposition
2016 215,597 21.1
6 / 40
 190,846 18.8
5 / 20
11 / 60
 Decrease 3 Opposition
2021 289,802 26.1
8 / 40
 278,560 25.1
8 / 20
16 / 60
 Increase 5 Opposition

Local councils[edit]

Welsh Conservatives by ward and council control after the 2017 local elections
Election Votes % Councils +/- Seats +/-
1993 84,909 12.5
0 / 8
32 / 502
1995 75,448 8.1
0 / 22
 Steady
42 / 1,272
 Increase 10
1999 99,565 10.1
0 / 22
 Steady
75 / 1,270
 Increase 33
2004 99,991 11.0
1 / 22
 Increase 1
107 / 1,263
 Increase 32
2008 148,708 15.6
2 / 22
 Increase 2
165 / 1,270
 Increase 19
2012* 108,365 12.8
0 / 22
 Decrease 2
105 / 1,235
 Decrease 66
2017 182,520 18.8
1 / 22
 Increase 1
184 / 1,271
 Increase 79
2022
0 / 22
 Decrease 1
111 / 1,231
 Decrease 86

*The 2012 figures excludes Anglesey which was elected 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 are based on changes from the 2012 & 2013 elections.

European Parliament[edit]

Election Wales +/–
% Seats
1979 36.6
1 / 4
1984 25.4
1 / 4
 Steady
1989 23.5
0 / 4
 Decrease 1
1994 14.6
0 / 5
 Steady
1999 22.8
1 / 5
 Increase 1
2004 19.4
1 / 4
 Steady
2009 21.2
1 / 4
 Steady
2014 17.4
1 / 4
 Steady
2019 6.5
0 / 4
 Decrease 1

Appointments[edit]

House 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]

  1. ^ Davies-Lewis, Theo (2019). "All three major Welsh parties need new blood at the top". nation.cymru. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections". www.opencouncildata.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. ^ Jones, B, Welsh Elections 1885 – 1997(1999), Lolfa
  4. ^ Melding, D, Have We Been Anti-Welsh? The Conservative Party and the Welsh Nation (2005), Cymdeithas Y Kymberiaid
  5. ^ "Welsh Tory leader resigns". BBC News. 11 August 1999. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Labour agrees historic coalition". BBC News. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Welsh election results 2022: Tories lose their only council". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  8. ^ Davies, Daniel (16 July 2018). "Stop fussing over Tory leader status, says MP". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Shipton, Martin (28 June 2018). "The story behind Andrew RT Davies' ousting as Welsh Conservative leader". Wales Online. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Welsh Tories should consider breaking away from UK party". Wales Online. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg 'correct not to name' Welsh Tory leader". BBC News. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ a b Pennant, Gareth (3 February 2019). "Byron Davies: Welsh Conservatives leadership clarity needed". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Cheryl Gillan 'irritation' at Conservative Welsh leader proposal". BBC News. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
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