Nigel Farage has named Helen Jenner as Reform UK's leader in Wales, presenting the member of the Senedd for Bangor Conwy Môn on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay on Monday morning, six days after her predecessor resigned following his arrest.
Jenner, who had been Reform UK Wales's deputy leader since April, takes charge of the largest opposition group in the Senedd at a point when the party has lost both its Welsh leader and one of its members inside a week. She replaces Dan Thomas, the member for Casnewydd Islwyn, who stood down on 15 September after being arrested two days earlier on suspicion of assault and of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour. Thomas says he has done nothing wrong and has not been charged.
Farage acknowledged the disruption at the announcement. "We could have done without this little bump in the road, but we are making the best of it," he said, in remarks reported by the Pembrokeshire Herald. After Jenner spoke, he added: "As you can see she is not lacking in confidence she is going to make a great leader for Reform in Wales."
The North Wales Pioneer reported that Farage said he had known Jenner for "many, many years", described her as "a determined campaigner" and said he was sorry for Thomas's "personal difficulties".
Jenner said she was "thrilled" to lead the party in Wales, according to ITV News Wales. "Back in May the voters gave us a clear mandate to smash the establishment and to bring common sense to Cardiff Bay," she said. "Week in, week out, that's exactly what we've done, and we're not going to stop until we get the real change Wales deserves."
Whether the appointment makes her the substantive leader, or confirms the interim arrangement that followed Thomas's resignation, has not been set out by Reform UK. The Caerphilly Observer reported that Jenner was chosen by fellow Reform MSs on Monday. Thomas said on 15 September that he would "fully back whoever the group selects as its next leader", and the party's Senedd members met the following day, and it was Farage who announced the outcome on Monday.
Gwent Police said in a statement on 15 September: "On Sunday 13 September a 45-year-old man, from the Aberbargoed area, was arrested on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour. He has been bailed pending further enquiries." The force did not name the man; the identification rests on Thomas's own statement and his party's confirmation.
In his resignation statement, issued through Reform UK, Thomas 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." He added: "With deep regret, I am now standing down from this position due to personal reasons." He said he had been reported to the police over the weekend and released without charge, and pledged to continue serving his constituents.
Welsh Labour said the change at the top would not address the party's difficulties. "Changing the leader won't change the fundamental problem with Reform in Wales," a spokesperson said. "Last week, one of their own Senedd members left the party saying it was 'not serious about governing Wales' and accusing it of treating the Senedd as a staging post for Nigel Farage's ambition to reach Downing Street. Helen Jenner is a longstanding supporter of Farage, and people deserve to know what will change under her leadership."
That member was Sarah Cooper-Lesadd, elected for Reform UK in Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg in May and the party's shadow minister for children, young people and skills, who defected to Plaid Cymru on the same day Thomas resigned. Her move took Reform's Senedd group from 34 members to 33 and made her Plaid Cymru's 44th MS, according to the Plaid group's chair, Marc Jones.
Reform UK won 34 of the 96 seats at the Senedd election on 7 May, finishing second behind Plaid Cymru on 43, with Welsh Labour third on nine, according to results collated by the House of Commons Library. Rhun ap Iorwerth, the Plaid leader, became First Minister.
Jenner has served as Reform's shadow cabinet minister for education and the Welsh language since the team was named in May, and deputised for Thomas at First Minister's Questions in the week before he stood down. A Welsh speaker born in Neath and raised on Ynys Môn, she worked as a teacher before entering politics and was previously a member of UKIP when Farage led it, ITV News Wales reported. Her constituency covers the same area as the First Minister's.
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