Nic Conner was – until Monday 19th May – an executive member of the North West Wales Conservative Federation.
In Wales, we lost all our MPs; the Party is embroiled in a betting scandal; and we’re on course to fall from second to fourth in next year’s Senedd elections.
True to form, when the Conservative Party is backed into a corner, it lashes out and bitten the hand of its own membership.
At 10:40pm on Monday 19 May 2025, Bernard Gentry, Chairman of the Welsh Conservative Party, emailed 500 members of the North West Wales Conservative Federation, a federated body of associations and wards now forming the super Senedd constituency of Bangor Conwy Môn. (For those unfamiliar with the map, this includes Anglesey and the top north-western corner of Wales.) He wrote:
“At the UK Conservative Board meeting held today, Monday 19th May 2025, a report on the North West Wales Federation was considered and determined… with immediate effect. The current officers and executive have been removed and replaced with the current members of the Area Management Executive.”
In short: without warning, and seemingly without the knowledge of anyone outside the Party Board and certain Senedd members, our Federation has been taken over by the Party.
Why? We still don’t know. No justification has been given for why the board discussed our Federation, let alone why they felt compelled to take such drastic action. I’ve written to the Party Chair, the National Convention Chairman, the Welsh Chairman and CCHQ. As of publication, I have received no reply.
I sit on the executive of the Federation. All of us – officers, executive, and members – were blindsided. There was no discussion, no warning, no indication this was coming. Under the Party’s constitution, we knew we had to hold an AGM by the end of June (our last was in January 2024). Yet the email states:
“No AGM or SGM of the Federation be permitted until after 31 May 2026 (or such later date as might be determined by the Board at a later stage).”
The only hint that something was amiss was the repeated postponement of our AGM, allegedly due to concerns about the Federation’s accounts. But just last month, the executive approved them.
It’s a very strange set of affairs. Personally, I’d been contacting the Federation Chairman, Welsh Chairman, and Area Chair to promote an action day I’d organised for this Saturday, along with a fundraising event I was funding myself. One of our members, a local hotelier, was even offering free accommodation for the guest speakers.
I asked for the event to be promoted in newsletters and on social media – but for the last two weeks, I’ve heard nothing. I have now cancelled both.
Allegedly, our Federation Chairman resigned two weeks ago. Yet no members or executive officers were informed. What exactly has been going on? I’ve asked for an explanation. All we’ve received, via Bernard Gentry’s late-night email, is that the new regime’s:
“…immediate priority will be to ramp up campaigning for the Senedd elections next year, supporting the candidate team led by Janet Finch-Saunders MS, and to ensure a cooperative working environment.”
That final phrase – “cooperative working environment” – seems to be the key. It’s been an open secret for some time that members across Wales are deeply unhappy with how the Party is being run and how candidates are being selected.
Many believe the system has been designed to guarantee that current MSs retain their seats under the new electoral system and selection process. It’s a convoluted structure that gives incumbents automatic top-list positions, subject only to confirmation by local executives. In some constituencies, this process has involved fewer than five people.
Members are rightly concerned this will deter fresh, high-profile candidates. Imagine Gareth Bale deciding to run – perhaps after one too many journeys in a 20mph zone. Under current rules, at best he would be placed second or third on the list behind lesser-known incumbents.
To many, the structure looks more like a protection racket than a strategy for winning. Talented people look at the Conservatives and see a closed shop.
They’re being drawn instead to Reform UK, where they feel welcomed and valued. One of our general election volunteers has already left the Conservative Party – and is now the Reform MP for Runcorn. It’s no surprise the Party is struggling to find enough candidates to complete its Senedd tickets.
I put this to Tom James, who led the Welsh Conservatives for CCHQ before stepping down after being charged by the Gambling Commission over an alleged bet on the election date. He replied by email:
“Having the incumbency rights as is provides a degree of security to MSs, some of whom rely on the role as their primary source of income.”
Challenging these rules has proved almost impossible. Power sits with a closed group. The Welsh Board is a prime example: its chairman is elected by a college made up solely of association officers – many of whom are employed by sitting MSs.
Take Gentry himsself, a retired Transport for London trade unionist and current parish councillor. He became Chair of the Welsh Conservatives while also serving as chairman of our Federation – an area he doesn’t live in. He qualified by being, at the time, a paid staffer for a local MS.
He stepped down from that job when he became Welsh chairman, and also resigned as chairman of the ‘Area’ Conservatives, replacing himself in each case with hand-picked successors. He remains, however, deputy chair of the Area – the group now in sole charge of our Federation.
Members have voiced serious and legitimate concerns. Now, those voices are now being silenced. Just last week Huw Davies, the former Deputy Chair (Political) of the Monmouthshire Conservatives, was suspended from the Party. He has been an outspoken critic of the Welsh Party structure and a whistleblower on this site.
Kemi Badenoch said during her leadership campaign that she would put members first. But the Party now seems determined to shut them out entirely. Do they really believe that cracking down on members will motivate them to campaign?
I’ve been a Party member for 19 years. During the general election, I walked 50 kilometres while simultaneously running an early-stage business and looking after a toggler. I did everything I could to stay positive and campaign for the Party. Well, as of Monday night: not anymore.
