London24NEWS

Tory chief Andrew RT Davies quits in Wales after Nigel Farage’s celebration surges in polls

POLITICS

Andrew RT Davies has resigned as leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd.

He wrote to the Welsh Conservatives’ chairman after a confidence vote in his leadership of the Welsh Conservative group. He narrowly survived the vote with nine Tories voting for him and seven against him.

Mr Davies said a “substantial minority” of his party do not support him and his position is “untenable”. He said the Welsh Conservative Party must “decide exactly what it stands for” and confirmed he will not stand in the leadership contest to find his successor.

Inn a statement, He wrote: “Last week, a group of Senedd members approached me, threatening to resign their positions in shadow cabinet if I did not agree to step down as leader. I therefore requested a motion of confidence in my leadership to be held at a meeting this morning.

“This vote has now taken place. It was clear from the result that a substantial minority of the group do not support our approach, despite it being the only viable strategy available. While I would have been honoured to continue as leader, my position is consequently untenable.”

Mr Davies has been under fire amid criticism of the direction of the Tories in Wales under his leadership. He has also been under pressure over social media controversies.

It comes as Reform UK surges in the poll in Wales. The Tories were polling in fourth place at 19%, behind Labour and Reform at 23%, and Plaid Cymru at 24%, an ITV Wales/Cardiff University poll revealed at the weekend.

* This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , Twitter , Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.

We’ll be bringing you the latest updates on this Breaking Politics News story.

Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story HERE. Get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters .

Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following The Mirror every time you see our name.

  • Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community – CLICK HERE

  • Follow The Mirror on Google News – CLICK HERE and click the star

  • Follow The Mirror on Apple News – CLICK HERE available on Apple devices

  • Follow The Mirror on Flipboard – CLICK HERE and click follow

You can sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news here @MirrorBreaking_ and follow us https://twitter.com/MirrorPolitics for all the latest updates.

Keep up-to-date with your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MirrorPolitics/ . See all our social accounts you can follow here: mirror.co.uk/social

You might also like More from author