Gareth Lloyd Davies (born 17 September 1988) is a Welsh Conservative politician who has been Member of the Senedd (MS) for

Vale of Clwyd The Vale of Clwyd ( cy, Dyffryn Clwyd) is a tract of low-lying ground in the county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales. The Vale extends south-southwestwards from the coast of the Irish Sea for some 20 miles (about 30 km) forming a triangl ...

since

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. He is the first Conservative to win this seat since its establishment in 1999.

Early life and education

Born in 1988, Davies is the son of Steven and Susan Davies. He attended Rydal Penrhus Senior School and Coleg Llandrillo Cymru. From 2010 to 2021, Davies worked in learning disability and mental health nursing, and physiotherapy for the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

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, North Wales.

Political career

In 2017, he was elected to

Denbighshire County Council Denbighshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Denbighshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Ruthin. Elections take place every five years. The last election was on 5 M ...

, representing the

Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that ...

South West ward. He also serves the Prestatyn South West ward on Prestatyn Town Council. He was elected to the Welsh Parliament, known as the Senedd, to represent the Vale of Clwyd constituency on 7 May 2021. He is the first Welsh Conservative to hold the seat since its establishment in 1999. In May 2021, he was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Social Services and elected to the Senedd's Health and Social Care Committee. On 30 June 2021, Davies delivered the first Members Legislative proposal of the 6th Senedd. He proposed new legislation which would ensure a rights-based approach to services for older people in Wales. His proposal won the backing of Senedd Members, despite opposition from

Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...

. In October 2021, there was a vote in the Senedd for the introduction of vaccine passports in Wales. Davies missed the chance to vote in-person as he was at the

Conservative Party Conference The Conservative Party Conference (CPC) is a four-day national conference event held by the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It takes place every year around October during the British party conference season, when the House of Commons is ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and so attempted to cast his vote against the measure via

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...

. He was unable to do so, and the motion passed by a single vote, 28 votes to 27. This is seen by many as one of the most pivotal and famous moments of the Senedd since its inception in 1999. In March 2023 Davies caused controversy after stating in the Senedd that there are “too many” Gypsy and Traveller sites in North Wales and adding that, “The simple message is that we don’t want them". He was asked to "rethink" his comments by Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt. His remarks were also condemned by gypsy and traveller advocates. Davies subsequently apologised for his remarks.https://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/23360133.vale-clwyd-ms-apologises-following-gypsy-traveller-comments/

Personal life

In 2018, Davies married Catrin Jones; the couple have a son. Outside of politics, he enjoys football, rugby, cricket, running and mountaineering.

References

External links

Gareth Davies MS
''Official website''

Offices held

Town and County Councillor for South West Prestatyn (2017-2022) {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Gareth Living people Conservative Party members of the Senedd Wales MSs 2021–2026 1988 births