Paul Windsor Davies (born 1969) is a British politician who currently serves as

Member of the Senedd A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...

(MS) for

Preseli Pembrokeshire Preseli Pembrokeshire (, ; cy, Preseli Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed in West Wales from 1974 to 1996. Until 1987 the name of the district was Preseli. The district took its name from the Preseli Hills. Creation Th ...

, a position he has held since 2007 election. He gained the seat from

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and was re-elected in May 2011, May 2016 and again in May 2021. Davies served as Leader of the

Welsh Conservatives The Welsh Conservatives ( cy, Ceidwadwyr Cymreig) is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At Westminster elections, it is the second most popular political party in Wales, having obtained the second-large ...

and

Leader of the Opposition in Wales In the Senedd, the Leader of the Opposition ( cy, Arweinydd yr Wrthblaid) (officially the Leader of the Opposition in the Senedd) is the leader of the largest political party in the Senedd that is not part of government and provides the official ...

from 27 June 2018 to 23 January 2021, having previously been Deputy Leader from 2011 to 2018 and Acting Leader in 2011 and 2018. He resigned as Welsh Conservative Leader after possible breaches of Welsh COVID-19 rules.

Background

Davies grew up in Pontsian. He attended Tregroes Primary School and

Llandysul Grammar School Ysgol Dyffryn Teifi was a bilingual (Welsh and English) comprehensive school in Llandysul, Ceredigion. It stood on the site of the previous Llandysul Grammar School. The school was established in 1984 following the re-organisation of education in ...

, obtaining

A levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn ( cy, Castellnewydd Emlyn) is a town on the River Teifi, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It is also a community entirely within Carmarthenshire, bordered by those of Llangeler and Cenarth ...

Comprehensive School. Davies now lives in

Blaenffos Blaenffos is a small village of around 200 inhabitants in the north of Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the community of Boncath. It sits on the boundary between the former parishes of Llanfihangel Penbedw and Castellan Chapelry (part of Penrydd parish). ...

, north

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

Professional career

On leaving school in 1987 aged 18 Davies started working for

Lloyds TSB Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Lloyds Bank is the largest retail bank in Britain, and has an exten ...

as a bank clerk based in

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

. He remained with the bank until his election to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

in 2007, having risen to become a Business Manager.

Political career

In February 2000, Davies was adopted as the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate in the Ceredigion by-election; he came in third place in the results having improved the Conservatives' vote. He then fought the seat in the 2001 general election. In the Senedd election of 2003, he fought

where he increased the share of the vote from 23% to 30%, cutting the Labour Party's majority to 1,326. Davies has also held office within the Conservative Party including chairman of

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

Conservative Association and Deputy Chairman of Mid and West Wales Conservatives. He was first elected to the Senedd in 2007. Until March 2009 he served as Shadow Minister for Culture, the Welsh Language and Sport. From March 2009 until the Senedd in 2011, Davies held the role of Shadow Minister for Education and the Welsh Language. After his re-election as Senedd Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire in May 2011, he briefly held the role of Interim Leader of the Welsh Conservative Senedd Group before being appointed as Deputy Leader of the Welsh Conservative Senedd Group, and Shadow Minister for Finance. Davies was elected Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in September 2018. He resigned as Leader of the Welsh Conservatives and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

on 23 January 2021, after he was exposed as being involved in an incident with possible breaches of Welsh COVID-19 regulations in December 2020. In April 2022 Paul Davies was cleared of breaking the Senedd's code of conduct.

References

External links

Paul Davies MS
own website
Member Profile
Senedd website {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Paul 1969 births Living people People from Pembrokeshire Conservative Party members of the Senedd Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Wales MSs 2016–2021 Wales MSs 2021–2026 Welsh-speaking politicians