A Conservative councillor has issued a 108-page call for devolution in Wales to be scrapped, describing the devolved era as a "failed experiment".
Calum Davies, who represents Radyr and Morganstown on Cardiff council, has written a 45,000-word document titled "The failed experiment: The case for the abolition of national devolution in Wales". He argues that devolution has been shown to be "self-serving and unworkable" and that "abolition or replacement of 'national' devolution is the only way that the ills of the last 27 years can be overcome".
Davies's case against devolution
Davies, who has also been a staff member in the Conservative group in the Senedd, denies the document is "sour grapes" after the 2026 election result, in which he was a candidate. He suggests that instead of the Welsh Parliament, there could be "truly local devolution" including devolved mayors or a North Wales Assembly.
"I believe devolution has been fundamentally bad for Wales and the United Kingdom," he writes. "There is little civil society to challenge the elite, the charitable sector has been co-opted into a left-wing agenda that better serves taxpayer-funded organisations than the public, and a lobbying culture has proven to be no more virtuous than in any other society."
He also criticises the Presiding Officer, saying they "remain unchecked by a toothless elite that has allowed ministers to collaborate with the chair of the Senedd to bring forward a joint nationalist vision".
Criticism of Conservative leadership
Davies criticises the leader in Wales, Darren Millar, saying he "decided to expend political capital to emphasise a bizarrely pro-devolution stance, going as far as to make life difficult for those who were pro-abolish. This led to people leaving the Party – some are now Reform UK Senedd members or work for them".
He says the Senedd result in 2026 shows "the pivot to being overtly pro-devolution failed". He calls for the Conservative Party to take a pro-abolitionist stance, saying the group structure "presided over the defections of politicians, members, and staffers, making the party a hostile environment for pro abolish Conservatives".
"Whereas abolition was previously the only route to victory for the Welsh Conservatives – which is why several MSs and staff proposed a referendum on the matter to Darren Millar, who rejected this chance to salvage his party – now it is the only one to survival," he says.
Response and conclusion
A Conservative spokesperson said in response: "The Conservative position on devolution is clear. If we want change in Wales, we need to end the Labour–Plaid Cymru axis which has been running Wales for decades."
In the conclusion of his document, Davies writes: "Let us not forget that abolishing devolution does not mean abolishing Wales. What was here before devolution will be here after it. Let us rid ourselves of a constitutional experiment that has evidently failed. It is ludicrous to suggest that Welshness is embodied in the Senedd when most people do not even participate in its election."
