Assembly Member for Clwyd West
Chief Whip and Shadow Minister for External Affairs & International Relations
Darren was first elected to the National Assembly for Wales in May 2007 and was returned to the Senedd in 2011 and 2016 with increased majorities at each election.
Having been brought up in Towyn, Darren now lives in Kinmel Bay with his wife Rebekah and their two children, Mary and Toby. He enjoys reading and history.
Darren currently serves on the Welsh Conservative front bench as Chief Whip and Shadow Minister for External Affairs and International Relations. He also acts as Policy Director for the Assembly Group and serves as Vice Chair Policy on the Welsh Conservative Party Board. In addition, he Chairs the Assembly’s Cross Party Group on Faith, and the Cross Party Group on the Armed Forces and Cadets, each of which he is a founder member.
Between May 2016 and September 2018 Darren served as the Shadow Secretary for Education and Children, during which time he was a member of the National Assembly's Children, Young People and Education Committee. Prior to his re-election to the Assembly in 2016, he served as Shadow Minister for Health and Older People, and Chaired the Assembly's influential Public Accounts Committee.
During his first term in office, Darren spent some time as Shadow Minister for the Economy and Transport, Shadow Minister for Environment and Planning and as Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government. Whilst serving in these roles he also sat on the Assembly's Enterprise and Learning Committee, the Sustainability Committee, and Chaired the Health, Well-being and Local Government Committee.
Before becoming an Assembly Member, Darren worked as a manager for an international charity. He has also been an accountant working in the construction, care home and telecommunications industries.
Darren is a Chartered Manager, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). He was commissioned as a Minister by the Assemblies of God in Great Britain in May 2015.
In 2000/2001, Darren became the youngest serving Mayor in Wales, a record which he understands is as yet unbroken, when he served the township of Towyn and Kinmel Bay. He has also served as a member of Conwy County Borough Council, the North Wales Police Authority and the North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.