A new leadership team for Reform UK in Wales
Laura Anne Jones has been elected deputy leader of Reform UK in Wales, joining Helen Jenner at the helm of the party’s Senedd group following a period of significant turmoil.
Jenner was announced as the new Welsh leader on Monday, replacing Dan Thomas, who stood down last week after being arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour. Thomas has denied any wrongdoing and was released without charge.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage travelled to Cardiff for the announcement, describing the recent difficulties as a “bump in the road” as the party sought to present a united front. Farage said of Jenner: “I’ve known Helen for many, many years. She’s a determined campaigner, someone that I trust, and I think’s going to do a very, very good job.”
The appointments give Reform UK a new leadership pairing in Wales at a crucial stage, with the party now holding 34 elected members and positioning itself as the main opposition force in the Senedd.
Jones’s move from the Welsh Conservatives
Jones, the Member of the Senedd for Sir Fynwy Torfaen, defected from the Welsh Conservatives last summer after more than three decades associated with the party. At the time, she said: “I’ve just suddenly felt that the Conservative Party was unrecognisable to me. It wasn’t the party that I joined over three decades ago.”
Her elevation to deputy leader marks another prominent role in her political career and places her at the centre of Reform UK’s ambitions in Wales. The party has sought to capitalise on its growing representation in the Senedd, presenting itself as an alternative to both Labour and the Conservatives.
Announcing her appointment on Facebook on Tuesday, Jones said: “I am honoured to have been elected Deputy Leader of Reform UK Wales and hugely grateful to my colleagues for their trust and support.”
She added: “We have made a fantastic start in the Senedd, giving a voice to the voiceless, holding the Welsh Government to account and standing up for communities that have been ignored for too long.” Jones also praised Jenner, saying she would be a “strong, effective leader” and that she would do “everything I can to support her”.
The conduct sanction still shaping scrutiny
Jones’s appointment comes less than a year after she was suspended from the Siambr, the Senedd debating chamber, for 14 days over a racial slur about Chinese people. The remark was made in a WhatsApp group during a discussion about the Chinese-owned app TikTok in August 2023.
Speaking in the Senedd in November, Jones said: “I never meant to cause any offence and would never have that intention of doing so.” She apologised for the messages, said they had been shared privately before being leaked to the press, and said she had completed respect and conduct training with her staff.
She also told the Senedd: “It is deeply regrettable that the message and others in which I had aired my frustrations in private, which I’ve also apologised for and do again, were leaked to the press and made public where they had the potential of being misconstrued and hurt someone unnecessarily.”
Jones said she had reflected on the episode and accepted the need to take greater care with her language. The sanction remains a notable part of her political record as she takes on a senior role within Reform UK’s Welsh leadership.
Thomas steps aside after police arrest
The leadership change follows Thomas’s decision to stand down after he was arrested and later released without charge. In a statement last week, he said: “It has been the honour of my life to have been the leader of Reform Wales and see this party go from zero to 34 elected members and become the largest opposition group in Welsh history.”
Thomas said he was stepping aside for “personal reasons” and confirmed that he had been reported to police over the weekend. He added: “I stress that I have done nothing wrong, but I do not want the coming headlines to be a distraction from the fantastic work our Senedd team is doing in holding this Government to account.”
He said he would continue to serve his constituents in Casnewydd Islwyn and would support whoever was chosen as his successor. Jenner’s selection and Jones’s appointment as deputy are now being framed by Reform UK as an effort to move forward while maintaining pressure on the Welsh Government.
Why it Matters
Reform UK’s new Welsh leadership arrives at a defining moment for the party, which has rapidly become a major force in the Senedd but now faces the harder task of demonstrating stability, discipline and effective scrutiny. Jenner and Jones will be judged not only on their ability to challenge Labour in Cardiff Bay, but on whether they can keep the party’s growing platform focused on policy rather than controversy. For Welsh voters, the reshuffle matters because Reform UK is no longer a protest movement on the fringes of politics; it is now the largest opposition group, with greater influence over debates, accountability and the direction of public life in Wales.
