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FOR a party who say they want to win power to govern Wales, the Welsh Conservatives sure have a warped way of displaying that intent.
It’s been revealed that three of their four top placed candidates for the List seats in South Wales Central have declared they want to abolish the Senedd altogether.
They include the son of a leading Conservative Politician in Cardiff Bay, Suzy Davies.
Some would put this down to the serial incompetence and lack of integrity that seems to pervade the Conservative and Unionist Party at all levels right now.
Others might say that it’s sheer opportunism on behalf of the said candidates, looking to capitalise on the appeal of the Abolish Party to a certain section of the Welsh population.
Some might even suggest that Abolish is in fact a Tory-supported trojan horse, used in the same way that UKIP was used to push the mainstream Tory party towards a EU referendum.
With Welsh Governance now being substituted for the EU in planning another exit of sorts.
Whatever the truth, it’s an awful reflection on the Welsh Conservatives and their leader Paul Davies, that the party is formally endorsing people who want to abolish the Senedd completely.
Only a couple of weeks ago he was boldly asserting that they were aiming to win the May election, with a transformative vision to take Wales forward.
Now he’s supporting candidates who want to take Wales back under the apron strings of Westminster.
Gwlad’s Policy Director, Stephen Morris said the ambiguity of the Welsh Conservatives concerning the Senedd was a real wake-up call for their voters.
‘The truth is that the Conservative vote in Wales is not a solidly unionist one at all – more often than not, it’s just a vote for sensible and competent government in contrast to the Labour Party’ he said.
‘But, we’ve now got a shambolic Conservative government in Westminster, and a would-be government in Wales whose own candidates aren’t actually believing in that message’.
Dr. Morris said the thousands of conservative-minded voters in Wales who truly cared about Wales should now switch to Gwlad.
‘We are sensible, grounded people who don’t do dogma and just want to see Wales governed well for the good of all its people’.
‘We also argue that the conservative case for Independence can be summed up in just four words: Wales is a nation.’
‘So, if you want sensible policies and believe in working towards an independent Wales, this party can be a natural home for you.’
Following the revelations about the Senedd-denying candidates over the weekend, a question must now be raised about other Conservative candidates in the other four regions.
If such outright hostility towards Wales’s democracy exists within the higher echelons of the party in South Wales Central, it might well be replicated in other regions as well.
Paul Davies should show some leadership and stop the candidacy of the three candidates in question.
But asking for leadership from Paul Davies is a forlorn hope at best.
Welsh voters will need to make their own judgement about the integrity of the Welsh Conservatives.