Welsh Tory trouble

If the Tories do emerge, as I suspect they will, as the largest Opposition party to Labour in the Assembly after the next elections in 2007, will we see a leadership election taking place?

I have suggested before that their real leader is Glyn Davies AM, former Chair of the Development Board for Rural Wales.

That's if he gets re-selected of course. There's a bit of a battle on for him, current Welsh Tory 'leader' Nick Bourne, and Lisa Francis for the 3 regional seats they hold in Mid and West Wales. They only just scraped their third seat in the region last time and Labour is campaigning hard to win that final seat.

Apparently the Tories are going to have to re-run their selection for the regional list in that area:

Selection for the Mid and West Wales electoral region will have to be restarted - at great cost to the party - after members received leaflets urging members to back sitting AM Glyn Davies.

Under the party rules candidates for the PR list, who are ranked one to eight in a ballot of party members with number one almost certain to be elected to Cardiff Bay, are not allowed to attend party functions or send out leaflets canvassing support.

But it is understood a leaflet was sent to party members from an activist calling on them to vote for Mr Davies, which was deemed to be "excessive lobbying".

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on Mr Davies's part.

Currently the Tories do not have any women standing in seats that might be regarded as their top targets. Is this an attempt to get Lisa Francis selected above Glyn Davies in the Mid and West Wales Region?