Senedd member Laura Anne Jones has defected from the Conservative Party to Reform UK, leader Nigel Farage announced on Tuesday.
Jones becomes Reform UK’s first Member of the Senedd (MS) and marks the party’s most prominent defection in Wales to date.
Jones stated she could no longer support Conservative policies while campaigning, adding that her former party was informed of her departure as the press conference commenced.
The announcement has drawn criticism from Welsh Conservatives, with Senedd Conservative leader Darren Millar stating that voters in South Wales East will feel “very let down by her announcement.”
During the press conference, Jones did not dismiss the possibility of running for leadership of Reform UK in Wales.
Recent polling data suggests Reform UK could potentially become the largest party in the upcoming Senedd election next May.
This news follows the recent decision of former Conservative Welsh Secretary David Jones to join Reform UK, and weeks of speculation about the party’s efforts to recruit a sitting MS.
The defection occurs less than a year after Jones apologized for using a racist slur regarding Chinese people in a WhatsApp conversation.
She has been under investigation by the Senedd’s standards commissioner, Douglas Bain, in a probe reportedly linked to allegations of bullying by a senior staff member.
Hinting at a favorable outcome, Jones stated she has reviewed the report and is confident in its findings.
A previous police investigation into complaints regarding her expenses found “no evidence of fraudulent activity.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticized the defection, stating: “If people who are under investigation, who had all sorts of complaints and allegations, are going to Reform then I think they may be making the right decision for them.”
Farage, addressing the allegations against Jones, told the BBC: “Let me assure you that she would not have come to us, and we wouldn’t have accepted her, if we weren’t confident that won’t all go away.”
Speaking at the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd, Jones stated: “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.”
She asserted that Reform UK “is listening to the people of Great Britain” and referred to Farage as “a great man.”
“Wales is a complete mess. As you know, we’ve got the worst educational outcomes. We’ve got health statistics that are the worst in the UK.
“Farmers are getting battered, pensioners are getting battered… we can’t have this go on.”
Introducing Jones, Farage said she brings “experience. She knows how the place (the Senedd) works, and that’s very important for us.”
Jones had been reselected by the Conservatives for the new Senedd seat of Sir Fynwy Torfaen, but faced a contest with Tory MS Peter Fox for the top spot on the party list there.
Should she have lost, she would have been number two on the list, and there has been speculation that the Conservatives could struggle to secure two seats in some constituencies given their current polling performance.
One party source suggested the prospect of being second on the list may have motivated the defection, but Jones denied that concerns about re-election prompted her decision to join Reform UK.
“I had a fair chance of getting in,” she told reporters.
Jones was initially elected to the then-National Assembly in 2003, serving one term until 2007, before returning in 2020 following the death of Mohammad Asghar.
She was re-elected in the 2021 election for South Wales East.
Her defection reduces the Conservative representation in the Welsh Parliament to 14.
Laura Anne Jones previously served as the Conservative spokesperson on Local Government, Housing, and the Armed Forces, and has frequently criticized the Welsh government’s policies on transgender issues.
Jones’s former staff member, Ed Sumner, has been working as Reform UK’s director of communications for several months.
Reform UK has yet to select any candidates for the next election. Jones stated that she did not know which constituency she would be standing in. Last week, the party stated its intention to have a full slate of candidates in place “by the end of the year.”
When asked if she would become Reform UK’s leader in Wales leading up to the Senedd election, Jones responded: “We’ll have to see what happens won’t we.”
The announcement is anticipated to fuel further speculation about potential defections of other Conservative MSs.
Andrew RT Davies dismissed this possibility in an interview with ITV Wales.
The former Senedd group leader said: “I was a Conservative when I went into the Senedd and I will be a Conservative when I leave the Senedd.”
He appeared hesitant to directly criticize Laura Anne Jones.
When asked if he was disappointed by her departure, he said: “People go to the home they feel most appropriate and Laura’s gone to Reform today.”
James Evans, MS for Brecon and Radnorshire, stated that the Tories had supported Jones “through thick and thin” and her defection felt like a “kick in the teeth.”
He told the broadcaster: “I think she’s made the wrong choice.”
“Reform will have to put up with everything they’ve got now, won’t they?”
Speaking to the BBC podcast Walescast, Farage said the negotiations had been going on with Laura Anne Jones for “many many weeks.”
Speculation has been building that someone from the Tory group might defect to Farage’s party.
This is partly due to Reform UK’s improved performance in recent opinion polls compared to the Conservatives.
Polls suggest the party led by Kemi Badenoch is currently in fourth place in Wales, a position where it becomes more challenging to secure seats through the Senedd’s voting system.
Tory MS Sam Kurtz summarized the suspicions of his colleagues regarding Jones’s motivations, and perhaps the predicament facing the Conservatives.
When asked why he thought she defected, Kurtz stated: “To get re-elected.”
Welsh Conservative leader in the Senedd Darren Millar said: “Naturally, I’m disappointed by Laura’s decision and Conservative Party members and voters in South East Wales will feel very let down by her announcement.”
He added: “We wish Laura all the very best in her new high tax and high spend party.”
A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “Today’s defection is further proof that Reform are just the Tories in teal ties. Neither party cares about the people of Wales.”
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “This is yet another desperate Tory defection who knows the writing is on the wall for their party’s prospects next May.”
Welsh Liberal Democrat MP David Chadwick added: “Reform has no answers for Wales, just more noise, division, and is seemingly now only a vehicle for failed Conservative politicians.”
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