Millar expected to be confirmed Welsh Tory leader

The Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd are expected to elect Darren Millar as their new leader later today, after all of his colleagues backed him for the job.

Millar has promised to unite a party that split over Andrew RT Davies' leadership.

Other potential rivals ruled themselves out and backed the chief whip and Clwyd West Member of the Senedd (MS) over the course of Wednesday and Thursday morning.

Davies quit on Tuesday after months of pressure over the direction of his party, and his social media activity.

Davies called a vote of confidence on Tuesday which he won, but only narrowly. He said it was untenable for him to continue.

Millar was first elected in 2007. A pro-devolution politician, he was brought up in Towyn, Conwy, and is arguably the most senior Conservative in the group of 16 other than Andrew RT Davies.

Millar is a prominent Tory spokesman in the Welsh media, but has not run for the role before.

The fact that no rival candidate has emerged means there will be no vote of the party membership.

When confirmed, the Tory chief whip would become the third Welsh political leader to be elected unopposed in two years - following Eluned Morgan for Labour in the summer and Rhun ap Iorwerth for Plaid Cymru in 2023.

All have promised to unify party groups in the Senedd that had suffered rows over the leadership.

Because there is no rival candidate there will be no ballot of members.

Former Downing Street communications director to Boris Johnson, Guto Harri, said the challenge for the Conservatives was "not to swap one leader for another", but "to position the party to offer itself as an alternative government in Cardiff to Labour".

"Let's get back to what it is to be a Conservative. It's not to be an eccentric crowd pleaser, or a lobbyist for farmers, though they're part of the mix.

"It's to go back to advocating a small state that takes less of your money."

He said Millar needs to bring forward "a lot of talent", including former Tory MPs. "I wouldn't waste Stephen Crabb, I wouldn't waste David TC Davies," he said.

Tory disquiet came to a head last week when a group of MSs raised concerns with Davies in a meeting.

Davies has said they said they would quit their frontbench spokesperson roles if he did not resign - prompting him to call the vote of confidence.

Some Conservative Senedd members were worried about the direction of the party under Davies, and at his social media output on X.

Davies' comments about halal meat in a school, which had been disputed by the school's local authority, had been accused of being "race-baiting" by a Muslim group.

Another tweet showing him asking constituents at an agricultural show whether they believe the Senedd should be abolished upset some Tories, who officially back devolution.

Supporters of Davies argued he had tried to tackle the threat of Nigel Farage's Reform UK, while opponents were concerned the party is not trying to broaden its support.

It all comes as a Senedd voting intention poll at the weekend suggested the Tories were in fourth place, behind Plaid, Reform and Labour. The next election is in May 2026.

On Wednesday, the outgoing Welsh Conservative leader said there was "plotting" taking place as long ago as April.

That was denied by Peter Fox, one of the seven MSs that voted against him.

"There was a range of things that happened over recent months that many of us were starting to feel uncomfortable with," he said.

Millar said he has wants to build on Davies' legacy and "get back to holding the Welsh government to account - that has to be our focus".

Under rules that require three other MSs to back a candidate, unless someone switched support, a rival candidacy is impossible.

Grassroots Newport Tory Huw Davies said it was "very disappointing" that Conservative members will not be able to elect the new group leader.

"There are a number of issues which need raising, and it will leave the new leader without a mandate," he said.

Nominations close at 17:00 GMT on Thursday.

A Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: "In July Welsh voters delivered their devastating verdict on the Conservatives, booting out every single Tory MP in Wales.

"Re-arranging the deckchairs in their Senedd group isn't going to make anyone forget their record of incompetence, sleaze, and failure."