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Darren Millar has been an MS since 2007
Senior Welsh Conservative Darren Millar is on course to become the next leader of the party in the Senedd.
With no potential rival in sight, the chief whip has the public support of 13 of his party colleagues, including outgoing leader Andrew RT Davies.
Other potential rivals – Samuel Kurtz, Natasha Asghar, James Evans and Tom Giffard – have ruled themselves out.
Davies resigned on Tuesday after he narrowly won a confidence vote of the Conservative Senedd group – nine for and seven against – saying it was untenable for him to carry on.
It followed months of pressure over the party’s direction in Wales.
The outgoing Welsh Conservative leader said there was “plotting” within the party’s Senedd group to oust him as long ago as April.
With only 16 Conservatives in the Senedd there are not enough endorsements left to support a second candidate – with hopefuls requiring three others to back them.
Nominations close at 1700 GMT on Thursday. If there is only one candidate they will become leader of Welsh Conservative Senedd leader immediately.
Millar would be the third leader to take control of a Welsh party in the Senedd without an election of party members – following Eluned Morgan for Labour and Rhun ap Iorwerth for Plaid Cymru.
First elected to be a Member of the Senedd, then called the National Assembly, in 2007, Millar has had a significant role in the Welsh Conservatives for some time.
In a sense, he made a name for himself from day one, being responsible for Labour’s biggest casualty of the night in his first election.
He defeated Alun Pugh, culture minister at the time, in Clwyd West, the seat Millar still holds today.
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.
Laura Anne Jones, Samuel Kurtz, Tom Giffard, James Evans, Altaf Hussain, Joel James and Gareth Davies also support Millar.
Millar’s supporters include some of the seven Senedd members who voted against Davies on Tuesday.
They included Kurtz, who backed Millar on social network X: “Darren will help inspire them with the possibilities of a brighter, more prosperous future under the Welsh Conservatives.”
“I have all the faith in the world in Darren. He is incredibly capable and able. He’s ti
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