Tory minister hits out after dozens of his indicators are ‘torn down and stolen’
A Tory minister has hit out after dozens of General Election campaign signs in his constituency were “torn down and stolen”.
Photographs from Monmouthshire in Wales show blue campaign placards with the Conservative logo knocked down and ripped up in fields. David TC Davies, the Tory candidate and secretary of state for Wales, said the signs on private properties across the area had either disappeared or been damaged, and described it as “completely unacceptable behaviour”.
Welsh news website Nation.Cymru reported a source close to the minister as saying dozens of the signs were going missing “every day”. No one has yet been identified in connection with the incidents, and the Mirror has contacted Gwent Police regarding whether it has been reported to them.
In a statement released today, Mr Davies said: “A number of plaster sites placed within private properties across Monmouthshire have been torn down and stolen. This is an illicit offence. This is completely unacceptable behaviour and cannot be tolerated in a democratic society. My principles and values are shared by thousands of people across the whole of Monmouthshire.
“The opposition parties won’t want to hear it, but I will continue to stand up to the Welsh Labour Government. Whether on their blanket 20MPH speed limit of their slashing NHS budgets to fund the creation of more politicians. Also, not forgetting their assault on Monmouthshire farmers in trying to force them to give up land for tree planting. I will not be silenced – and will continue to stand up for Monmouthshire.”
A fellow Welsh Tory described the damage to the signs as “affront to democracy”. Peter Fox, Member of the Senedd for Monmouth, posted an image showing wooden posts with signs removed in a field on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote: “Totally appalling that political activists have torn Conservative posters down on this stretch near Trellech, and similar in Usk. David TC Davies has been an outstanding MP and has a right to campaign as we always do. This pathetic vandalism is an affront to democracy.”
David TC Davies was MP for Monmouth from 2005 until the recent dissolution of Parliament, and is now standing in the new seat of Monmouthshire following boundary changes. He became Welsh secretary in October 2022. In a debate on ITV Cymru Wales on Sunday, he appeared to claim that most people on sickness benefit are capable of working. Mr Davies said a majority of those on sickness benefits would “be capable of working if we could give them the confidence to go out into the workplace”.
