Nigel Farage has unveiled Dan Thomas, a former Conservative council leader from London, as the new leader of Reform UK in Wales ahead of the Senedd elections on May 7. The announcement at the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport was marked by another significant defection: James Evans, a former Conservative member of the Senedd, also joined Reform UK at the event.
Thomas, who led Barnet Council from 2019 to 2022 before defecting to Reform last June, returned to Wales after 27 years in London's financial services sector. Originally from the South Wales Valleys, he told supporters he was «back home» in the «same beautiful Welsh countryside» where he wants to raise his two young sons.
In his speech, Thomas linked Wales's housing crisis to «uncontrolled immigration» and criticized «weak and woke policing» in London. He warned that houses in multiple occupation were «changing the character of our community forever» and referenced a car wash «just down the road» that was «the centre of a people trafficking ring.» Thomas declared: «We are at a turning point. We either settle for another four years of the same or we break the mould, start again and fulfil our potential. Wales is broken. Wales needs Reform.»
Farage's Defense
Farage defended his choice of a London-based politician to lead Reform UK in Wales. «I picked Dan because he is decent, respectable, he tells a story of someone who had to go away and loves Wales so much he wants his own children to grow up in a similar environment to what he grew up in,» he told the conference. He emphasized Thomas was «battle hardened» from «running budgets and many other things» and would «keep calm through good and bad.»
Opposition Strikes Back
Welsh Labour immediately attacked the appointment, with a spokesperson stating Thomas would be «Nigel Farage's puppet, doing his bidding from Westminster and silencing the voices of the people of Wales.» The spokesperson added the announcement showed Reform UK was «led by Tories.»
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth called Thomas Farage's «lapdog,» arguing his «sole responsibility will be to get Nigel Farage into No 10 Downing Street» because «for Reform, Wales is nothing but a stepping stone.» He claimed «only Plaid Cymru can stop Reform» in the May 7 election.
Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Jane Dodds was equally scathing: «Even Nigel Farage thinks that Reform candidates in Wales aren't up to the job – that's why he's appointed a councillor from London as leader.» She argued that «The same people who trashed our economy and hollowed out public services should not be trusted to reinvent themselves and lecture Wales about change.»
Thomas confirmed Reform UK would scrap the Welsh Government's controversial 20mph speed limit. The party plans to unveil its manifesto and candidates at a later date.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
