IN AN outcome that surprised nobody, the Welsh Conservative Chief Whip in the Senedd, Darren Millar MS, has become the new leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd. Mr Millar got the unanimous backing of the Welsh Conservatives Senedd Group, avoiding the need for a potentially divisive leadership election.
Mr Millar, who has been an MS since 2007, takes his post after his predecessor, Andrew RT Davies, quit this week after narrowly winning a confidence vote in his leadership.
Although Andrew RT Davies’s supporters anonymously briefed against “wet liberals” trying to force him out, Mr Millar is anything but on the Party’s left. One of only four Conservative MSs to support Brexit in the 2016 Referendum campaign, the Clwyd West MS is neither a shrinking violet nor a “wet liberal”. On the contrary, Mr Millar is firmly on the Party’s right on social issues. He is not shy of expressing unpopular opinions that clash with the more metropolitan sentiments of other MSs, both on other Partys benches and his own.
Chairman of the Welsh Conservative Party, Bernard Gentry, said: “I am pleased to announce that Darren Millar MS has been elected unopposed as the new Leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Welsh Parliament.
“In recent months, we’ve been winning numerous local government by-elections across Wales, and our action days have recruited hundreds of new volunteers and activists. Working together as one united party under Darren, Mims and myself, I am confident that we can achieve further success at the Senedd elections in 2026 and bring to an end the quarter of a century of Labour rule.
“I wish Darren every success as he takes the helm.”
The new Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, Darren Millar MS, said: “I am humbled by the incredible support of my colleagues in the Senedd and the kind messages I have received from Conservative Party members and members of the public across the country.
“Andrew RT Davies will be a difficult act to follow, but I am determined to build on his legacy as we take the fight to our political opponents in the run-up to the Senedd elections in 2026.
“After 25 years of Labour failure, Wales is crying out for hope and change; I look forward to setting out our plans to deliver just that in the weeks and months to come.”
As is wearily predictable, other parties’ press officers lined up to hurl brickbats at the new Welsh Conservative leader.
A Labour spokesperson said: “A new face, but the same old Conservative Party in Wales. Voters have already rejected Darren Millar and his colleagues at the General Election. Instead of trying to understand why, they are papering over the cracks.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth congratulated Millar but said he takes the job “at a time of chaos and infighting in his party, and with the Tories having failed to offer any credible solutions to the challenges facing Wales”.
Mr ap Iorwerth’s point about infighting is fair enough. Part of the reason for Andrew RT Davies’s fall was the stark division between him and his advisors and the majority of Welsh Conservative Senedd members. The Herald understands that, although Mr Davies won the vote of confidence he called, at least three other Conservative MSs had profound reservations about him continuing in post until May 2026’s Senedd elections.
Mr Millar will be keen to stamp his authority, end the briefing war, and reorganise the Senedd group’s back-office operations to take a more proactive approach to policy and political strategy. As Charlie Evans writes elsewhere on Herald Wales, saying “no” is not enough.
