Reform UK unveils Dan Thomas as Welsh leader
Kyle Bright
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has revealed the party’s leader in Wales to be Dan Thomas, a former leader of Barnet Council in London, during a press conference in Newport.
Mr Thomas grew up in Blackwood in the South Wales Valleys, but spent most of his political career as a councillor – first as Tory leader of Barnet Council from 2019 to 2022, then joining Reform UK in June last year.
Before that, he has stood as a Welsh Conservative candidate in the Islwyn constituency for the 2010 and 2017 general elections, coming second on both occasions.
He later quit as a councillor for Finchley Church End in December, explaining that he stepped down to spend more time with his family and return to South Wales.
Speaking about his connection to Wales, he said: “I was born and raised in the Welsh Valleys, where my family lived for generations. My granddad was a miner, as was his dad before him.”
Mr Thomas said he had “fond memories” of growing up in Wales and did not want to leave when he turned 18. He went on: “But for many Welshmen and women, good opportunities in Wales are few and far between,”
“The well paying jobs and the high flying career paths are simply not there. So I left to build a successful career in financial services in London while serving my new community as a councillor and council leader.
“After 27 years, I’m back home raising two young boys in the Valleys so they can enjoy the same beautiful Welsh countryside that I played in as a child. I’ve come back to where I belong.”
His leadership begins with just over three months to go until the Senedd election. He said: “We are fighting to win, fighting for every vote because this is the last chance for Wales.
“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.”
During his speech, Mr Thomas talked about issues caused by houses in multiple occupation (HMO), barber shops and a car wash in Wales which he said was the “centre of a people trafficking ring”.
He described “uncontrolled immigration” as one of the major causes of the housing crisis.
“When Labour and Plaid Cymru say that you are not allowed to talk about immigration, when they try to shout you down by calling you a racist, please know that they are wrong and that they are out of touch,” he said.
“The people of Wales can see what’s really going on and they will back Reform to nip this problem in the bud.”
Mr Thomas also criticised what he described as “weak and woke policing” in London, and what “uncontrolled immigration” had done to the city.
Party leader Nigel Farage said he picked Dan Thomas to lead his party in Wales because he is “decent” and “respectable”, as well as being “battle hardened”, having experience in council leadership and running budgets.
Farage also announced the defection of James Evans at the event in Newport, the former Tory member of the Senedd who had the whip removed last month over his talks with Reform about a possible defection.
‘Led by Tories’
Welsh Labour said the unveiling of two former Conservative politicians at the Reform UK conference in Newport showed the party was “led by Tories”.
A spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage says there are no Tories in Wales – that’s because they’ve all jumped ship to Reform UK to save their own skins, with James Evans MS being the latest.
“And now we’ve got a man who was a London councillor until two months ago telling Wales what it needs.
“Ultimately it doesn’t matter who is named as Reform’s leader in Wales. They will just be Nigel Farage’s puppet, doing his bidding from Westminster and silencing the voices of the people of Wales.
“You can’t trust their leader. You can’t trust their words. Reform UK’s leader in Wales is another former Tory. Reform Wales: led by Tories.”
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Jane Dodds, said: “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.
“Dan Thomas built his political career as a Conservative council leader in England. The same people who trashed our economy and hollowed out public services should not be trusted to reinvent themselves and lecture Wales about change.
“Wales needs ambition and serious leadership focused on the things that matter to people’s lives. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are offering that ambition, with clear plans to fix childcare, strengthen social care, revive our high streets and protect our NHS.”
‘Farage’s lapdog’
Rhun ap Iorwerth, the leader of Plaid Cymru, described Reform UK’s new Wales leader as Nigel Farage’s “lapdog”.
He said: “Two more ex-Tories defecting to Reform UK should come as no surprise to the people of Wales.
“Now, there is no doubt that Reform UK are simply recycled, washed-out Tories looking for a new political home now the Conservatives are dead in the water.”
He added: “It doesn’t matter who Farage has selected to represent him. The so-called leader’s sole responsibility will be to get Nigel Farage into No 10 Downing Street, because for Reform, Wales is nothing but a stepping stone.
“As was proven in the Caerphilly by-election and supported by opinion poll after opinion poll, only Plaid Cymru can stop Reform in the election on 7 May.
“Therefore, the people of Wales face a clear choice: a party that always stands up for Wales with Plaid Cymru, or Farage’s lapdog running our NHS and schools.”
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Thomas giving a masonic handshake to Farage I see.
Smart move, a nonentity keeping the seat warm for RT.
Sounds like a true (really?) Welsh man is running the Deform ship. Hopefully it gets bogged down in the marsh fields.
Echoes of that other creep George Thomas- “I was born in the Rhondda Valleys…….so I have every right to abuse them!”
Hurray! Dic Sion Dafydd has come home! Break out the Penderyn whisky!
Now I will drink to that!
Of course. Dan Thomas, who served as the Leader of Barnet Council from 2017 to 2022, is a figure associated with a particularly controversial and impactful policy. The most notable and interesting thing about his tenure is his role as the chief architect and advocate for Barnet’s “Commissioning Council” model, often dubbed “The Barnet EasyCouncil” or “The John Lewis Model.” Here’s a breakdown of what makes this so significant: 1. The “EasyCouncil” Model The concept, officially known as the “Commissioning Model,” was pioneered under the previous leader, Mike Freer, but Dan Thomas was its most prominent defender and implementer during… Read more »
Thank you for this excellent post.
I was wondering if I could find the time and energy to lay out the Barnet history. I would not have managed to be anywhere near as clear and comprehensive. I hope the opposition knows how to make use of the tale.
Shame I can only give you one upvote
Thank you for this frightening revelation. Wonder how he’ll stand up to scrutiny on this.
You’ll be treated to the usual panto of ducking, diving, and downright duplicity.
Great post.
Certainly fits in with the model of NHS privatisation that is already in use. Seems to be hand picked to accelerate the trend.
Thanks for that Ianto .A must read.
So it seems Refroms plan is to run Wales from Westmister,.Cut staff andgift juicy outsourced contracts to friends and family I truly hope Welsh Voters wake up
Given that Mark Reckless was a frontrunner for the leadership I suppose we should be thankful that at least Dan Thomas is Welsh
I am not convinced about his Welsh identity and his desire to preserve Welsh language and identity.
He stands for reform who think people born in Wales are not Welsh necessarily. His grandad is Welsh, that’s his link to us.
WINO?
So that’s alright then. He has a Welsh “grandad” who was a coalminer and grew up in “the welsh valleys”. Sounds like a Holywood remake of How green was my valley, look you isn’t it. And after being a Tory and running a London council he has ALL the knowledge and experience needed to rule us. Well, I’ve got something to tell you, Mr Thomas, we had another Mr Thomas just as anti-welsh in Lord Tonypandy, and he was just as bad as you promise to be. Well over half the population in Wales back 20mph, for example, so you… Read more »
Another Dic Sion Dafydd
Looks more like a John Thomas to me
Who?
What a bad appointment. A posh English plastic taff will go down like a lead balloon in the Valleys. Happy days!
Wales hating racist scum. There’s no place for them, their policies or their supporters in Wales.
For a group of people that constantly bang on about “respecting their country” they seem more than happy to inflict their vile way on us and ruin our country.
Disgusting on all kinds of levels, and it’s getting quite obvious why reform supporters are starting to get labeled on the estates.
Farage had to scrape the barrel on that one. Thomas will be fully controlled by Farage who always has England’s er I mean Wales’ best interests at heart
And how could anyone doubt the purity of Deform’s leader’s intentions; you know, Nigel “the Taffs yearn for the mines” Farage? The sooner the booze and smoking see him off, the better. He could have been an excellent MEP had he used his ability to speak effectively by explaining what European policies were and how they worked, along with the risks and benefits thereof. Instead he used the post to line his own pockets and lie to those he was supposed to be representing. How many times has he shown his face in Clacton since being elected? The only reason… Read more »
Amazing. Wonder how many acres of beautiful Welsh countryside he owns.
In December, when he resigned as a councillor from the London Borough of Barnet, he told them that this was so he could spend more time with his family due to the recent birth of his son. Why does he think the role as a Senedd member will be less arduous on his time than that of a borough councillor?
Not exactly a warm welcome from the other party leaders but when Mr Thomas has spent his adult life in London, not lived in Wales during devolution and his first political statements in his new role are all about non-devolved issues, you can see the direction of travel. He appears to be somebody that Farage can trust in Wales which is not exactly a pat on the back for any of his candidates here (when he gets around to picking them). He also has a record of outsourcing all services which in Barnett Councill as their leader, did not go… Read more »
Looks like he was promised the gig by Farage in 2024
Nobody in Wales has heard of him
London tory Councillor of 19 years.
The poor saps at branch .They never stood a chance No votes. Nothing
Expect Dan to big up his Welsh Roots.
Stories of salad days spent at Trecco as a child.
Washing the coal dust off Granddad .
How can anyone with Welsh family mining connections ever support the Tories or a far right reform party? Doesn’t he know his history? Especially the treatment of Welsh Miners from Churchill to Thatcher ? His grandfather will be turning in his grave…
Reform and Tories would have zero issue with selling their grandparents if they had the chance.
Reform have definitely got our best interests at heart. Said all the multi millionaire City of London bankers.
Another twice Tory failure forced on Wales by another eight times Conservative reject, Nigel Farage. Dan Thomas who, he says? And funny how he, Dan Thomas, mentions uncontrollable migration. According to his cult leader immigration wasn’t a problem in Wales as it was in England. Well , so he said in June, 2024. And I quote Reform UK: “While immigration is a major concern nationally, it was considered “much more of an issue” in England than in Wales.” Only recently the newly announced leader of Reform in Wales was a Conservative councillor in Barnet , whose party was in power… Read more »
It’s also worth emphasisisng that immigration policy has nothing to do with the Senedd elections becauase it’s not a devolved issue. Immigration policy is decided by Westminster. So as far as the Senedd elections are concerned, immigration is a prevarication, and we shold be insistng that Reform answer questions about policy areas that are devolved and decided by the Welsh Government and scrutinised by the Senedd. In terms of immigration, if it should be peddled by Reform, they need to be asked about all immigration into Wales, most of which is from England (and some of it white flight). Throw… Read more »
Yes, correct. Also, did you hear Dan Thomas in his interview effectively slur everyone in Wales when he said to get on in life had to leave for England. So effectively he implied that anyone who chose to live and work in Wales were lesser people. How patronising. I hope Plaid Cymru and other parties pick up what he said.
LINO – Leader In Name Only. Farage as majority shareholder is really in charge.
18 years in Wales and 27 in London is ideal experience for Reform’s Head Of Abolishing (Wales region) gig.
First presser he is asked does he agree with farage vile comments on gassing and Pochin’s vile comments on colour. Cos that is the party he is in.
This man has a lot to do to get him himself known and not a lot of time to do it. However much he throws his face at the media there will always be someone else directing him – Farage. Someone who knows absolutely nothing about Cymru.
I’m not a Reform voter (obviously) – but it looks like this fellow will be the only working class party leader in the senedd election. That doesn’t say much – other than about the narrowness of the welsh political class
How do you come to that ridiculous conclusion? He works in finance!
Look at his background
Working class? Are you joking?
Yet another tory failure being promoted way beyond his competence level. Make no mistake, he’ll never go to his Lord & master to fight on behalf of Cymru, more likely the reverse, to tell US “Nigel says this “& “Nigel said that” & expect the Cymro to hear & obey, a colonial overlord riding in on the back of a shiny landrover wearing a ridiculous uniform no doubt. He’ll just be the lickspittle in chief passing on the dik -tats from fascist head office. I’ll say this to the people of Cymru, if you’ve never ever voted tory in your… Read more »