Darren Millar expected to be confirmed as new Welsh Tory leader

Nominations for the next Welsh Conservative leader will close on Thursday, with Darren Millar almost certain to be elected unopposed.

The chief whip has earned the public backing of 14 of his 15 colleagues, with no other candidates declared by late Wednesday.

The contest was triggered when Andrew RT Davies quit the job earlier this week, after months of pressure over the direction of the party.

Millar has promised to unify the group – seven of which had gone against Davies in a vote on Tuesday.

Although he narrowly won with nine votes in his favour, Davies said it was untenable for him to continue.

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

The Member of the Senedd (MS) for Clwyd West is a prominent Tory spokesman in the Welsh media, but has not run before for the role.

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.

Some Conservative Senedd members had expressed concerns 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”.

As of Wednesday evening, Millar’s backers include outgoing leader Andrew RT Davies, former leader Paul Davies, Janet Finch-Saunders, Peter Fox and Russell George.

Samuel Kurtz, Laura Anne Jones, Tom Giffard, James Evans, Altaf Hussain, Joel James, Gareth Davies and Natasha Asghar also supported Millar.

The endorsements include several MSs who had opposed Davies in the vote of confidence on Tuesday.

After Sam Rowlands said he was backing Millar in a post on X on Thursday morning, only one nomination is theoretically left – Mark Isherwood.

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.