Ex-minister suggests Welsh Tory leader should go

Andrew RT Davies has been Welsh Conservative leader since 2021, in his second stint in the role

A Conservative former cabinet minister has cast doubt on whether Andrew RT Davies should lead the Tories into the next Senedd election.

Stephen Crabb warned that the 2026 vote would be "tough" for the party, and that it "probably" needed a leadership "refresh".

"If the party needs to change in order to survive, it's harder to do that when you always have the same personalities in place," said Crabb, who was in the cabinet as Welsh secretary and also work and pensions secretary.

The Senedd Tory leader rejected Crabb's comments, saying he was "up for the fight in 2026".

Davies is currently on his second stint as leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd: his first ran from 2012 to 2018, and he returned in 2021.

He has been under pressure in recent months after he was accused of "Islamophobic race-baiting" by a Muslim group, and over inappropriate language from one of his politicians.

Speaking to James Williams on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Crabb warned that the Conservatives were not well positioned for the next Senedd election in 2026.

"I think it's going to be a tough Senedd election. Reform will be looking to build on the gains they've made electorally... there was an awful lot of people voting for Reform in July."

He said the party had not been "good enough at providing alternative policies".

Asked if Davies was the right leader for the next Senedd election, Crabb said: "I don't like making it about personalities."

But he added: "If you're asking me do I think there needs to be refresh of the Welsh party and the Welsh leadership, probably yes.

"If the party needs to change in order to survive, it's harder to do that when you always have the same personalities in place."

He ruled himself out of standing in the 2026 Senedd election: "I spent the last couple of months pursuing other options.

"I think to do that, you've got to do it with a single mind and not with one foot stuck in the past."

Andrew RT Davies told BBC Wales he is still the right person to lead the Welsh Conservatives into the next Senedd election.

He refuted Stephen Crabb’s comments and said he was “up for the fight in 2026”.

Asked if he was the right man for the election, he said: “Very much so. I’m up for making that change agenda resonating in communities across the whole of Wales.”

He added: “I never need to look over my shoulder because I’ve got a mirror to look in all the time [to see] whose behind me.

“Because politics is always about making sure that no one gets too close to you, otherwise the knife might go in.”

One former MP said it was "not a time for further turmoil and infighting" in the party.

Asked if she agreed with the suggestion from former Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb that Andrew RT Davies should go, the former Tory MP for Wrexham Sarah Atherton said: "We need to prove to the country that we are unified and cohesive going forward."

The Welsh Conservatives' Senedd group chairman, Sam Kurtz, said he and the Senedd group had "full confidence" in Davies.

"I think we're working tirelessly to come forward with a plethora of policies that will be attractive to all voters in Wales in 2026," the Member of the Senedd for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire added.

'War on woke'

The discussion comes after former Downing Street PR chief Guto Harri said the Conservatives in the Senedd needed "new leadership" .

He said they were not just "there to draw a pay cheque".

Crabb was MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire until the summer general election, when he lost his seat, as did all other Welsh Conservatives.

He had served as chairman of the Commons' Welsh Affairs Select Committee, and in frontbench roles under David Cameron and Theresa May.

The former MP spoke as his party met in Birmingham for its annual UK party conference, amid a leadership contest to replace former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Crabb said it had been clear the party was going to suffer a "massive defeat in July" because of a "huge loss of trust in the Conservative government".

He hoped the next Tory leader would "occupy the centre ground".

"Culture wars, the war on woke," he said, "isn't the thing that's going to persuade somebody languishing on a hospital waiting list that they'll see public services improve."

Separately on Monday, UK Tory leadership contender Tom Tugendhat promised that he would include a Conservative Senedd member in his shadow cabinet, alongside others from the Scottish Parliament and councils in England, if he was to win.