wales parliamentA former Tory cabinet minister has cast doubt on whether Andrew RT Davies should lead the Conservatives at the next Senate election.
Stephen Crabb has warned that the 2026 vote will be “tough” for the party and a leadership “refresh” is “likely” to be needed.
Crabb, who served in the cabinet as Wells’ secretary and work and pensions secretary, said: “If a party needs to change in order to survive, it’s harder to do that when you always have the same character.”
The Conservative MP dismissed Crabb’s comments, saying he was “ready to fight in 2026”.
Davies is currently serving his second term as Conservative leader of Wales: his first campaign was from 2012 to 2018, and he returns in 2021.
He has been under pressure in recent months following the charges. ‘Islamophobic race bait’ from Muslim groupsand for inappropriate remarks made by one of his politicians..
talking James Williams on BBC Radio Wales BreakfastCrabb warned that the Conservatives’ position in the next Senate election in 2026 was not ideal.
“I think it’s going to be a tough Senate election. Reform will look to build on the electoral gains they’ve already made… There were a lot of people who voted for reform in July.”
He said the party “didn’t do a good enough job of offering alternative policies”.
Asked whether Davis was the right leader for the next Senate election, Crabb said: “I don’t like to tie it to personality.”
But he added: “If you ask me if I think the Welsh party and the Welsh leadership need renewal, probably yes.
“If a party needs to change to survive, it’s harder to do that when you always have the same personality.”
He ruled out running for the Senate in 2026: “I have been looking for other options over the past few months.
“I think to do that you have to be single-minded and not have one foot stuck in the past.”
Andrew RT Davies told BBC Wales he remains the right person to lead the Welsh Conservatives at the next Senate election.
He rebutted Stephen Crabbe’s comments and said he was “ready to fight in 2026.”
Asked if he was the right person to run for office, he said: “Very good. I’m ready to make this agenda for change resonate with communities across Wales.
He added: “I never have to look back because I have a mirror that I can always look into [to see] Who is behind me.
“Because politics is always about making sure no one gets too close to you or the knife might go in.”
One former MP said now was “not the time for further unrest and infighting” within the party.
Asked whether she agreed with former Wales minister Stephen Crabb’s suggestion that Andrew RT Davies should stand down, former Wrexham Conservative MP Sarah Atherton said: “We need to The whole country has proven that we are united and cohesive.
Sam Kurtz, chairman of the Conservative Party Sened group in Wales, said he and the Senedd group had “full confidence” in Davis.
The senator for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire added: “I think we are working tirelessly to deliver a raft of policies in 2026 that will appeal to all voters in Wales.”
“War has awakened”
The discussion comes after former Downing Street communications chief Guto Harry said the Conservatives in the Senate needed “new leadership”.
He said they weren’t just “coming to collect a paycheck.”
Crabbe was the MP for Preseley Pembrokeshire until the summer general election, when he, like all other Welsh Conservatives, lost his seat.
He served as chairman of the House of Commons Wales Select Committee and as a frontbench MP under David Cameron and Theresa May.
The former MP was speaking as his party held the UK’s annual political parties conference in Birmingham, In a leadership race to replace former chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Crabb said it was clear the party would suffer “a crushing defeat in July” due to a “huge loss of trust in the Conservative government”.
He hopes the next Conservative leader will “take center stage”.
“The culture wars, the woke wars,” he said, “are not going to convince people who are languishing on hospital waiting lists that they will see improvements in public services.”
Separately, British Conservative leadership contender Tom Tugendhat promised on Monday that he would include a Conservative senator in his shadow cabinet, along with other members from the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament, if he wants to win.
