News

Farage sends message of support to Reform Senedd group rocked by leader’s arrest

16 Sep 2026 4 minute read

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and then Reform UK leader in Wales Dan Thomas during a walkabout in Merthyr Tydfil. Photo Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

Nation.Cymru staff/agencies

Nigel Farage has sent a message of support to Reform UK’s Senedd group following the arrest and resignation of its Welsh leader Dan Thomas.

Reform chief whip Llŷr Powell said Mr Farage had contacted the group following the upheaval.

He said: “He sent a good message to us to say about the work we’ve been doing and it’s important that we keep going.

“Nigel is doing what Nigel does and that is lead the party nationally, us in here, we’re deciding who’s going to be the leader of the Reform group in the Senedd.

“That just shows the growth of the party, he’s got full confidence in us.”

Mr Thomas stepped down as Reform’s leader in Wales on Tuesday after being arrested on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour.

Gwent Police said a 45-year-old man from the Aberbargoed area was arrested on Sunday, September 13, and had been bailed pending further enquiries.

Mr Thomas, who remains a Reform MS for Casnewydd Islwyn, said he had been released without charge and stressed that he had “done nothing wrong”.

He returned to the Senedd on Wednesday and attended a meeting with his Reform colleagues, having been absent from the chamber during First Minister’s Questions the previous afternoon.

Mr Powell said: “I was fairly surprised at how upbeat the meeting was.

“Spirits were very high in that meeting, members were happy with the process that we’ve got, that members are having a voice.”

Mr Thomas was appointed Reform’s Welsh leader by Mr Farage in February and led the party into May’s Senedd election, when it won 34 of the 96 seats and became the largest opposition group.

His resignation came on the same day that Reform MS Sarah Cooper-Lesadd defected to Plaid Cymru, reducing the party’s representation in the Senedd to 33 members.

‘Deep unhappiness’

Ms Cooper-Lesadd, who represents Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg, accused Reform of having “no interest” in governing Wales and claimed there was “deep unhappiness” within its Senedd group.

Mr Powell rejected suggestions that the party was in crisis and confirmed that Reform’s MSs, rather than Mr Farage, would select their new Senedd leader.

Reform MS James Evans ruled himself out of the leadership contest on Wednesday.

He said: “I hope that the party can unite behind a single candidate, that we can get on with the job of representing the people here in Wales in opposition and fighting for those communities that feel left behind.

“I had the majority of support in the group but I do not think a competition at this time would be any beneficial to anybody.”

Announcing his resignation on Tuesday, Mr 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.

“With deep regret, I am now standing down from this position due to personal reasons.

“Over the weekend, I was reported to the police and was released without charge.

“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.”

The developments come after Nation.Cymru revealed that Reform representatives had warned news organisations against reporting details of Mr Thomas’s arrest before Gwent Police publicly confirmed it.

Family life

Several outlets were told that publication could breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to respect for private and family life.

Nation.Cymru contacted Reform’s media office before the police statement was issued, asking it to explain its position and whether Mr Thomas had been suspended from the leadership or party. No response was received.

There has been no announcement that Mr Thomas has been suspended from Reform following his arrest.

A former Reform member told Nation.Cymru that attempts to prevent publication were “absolutely outrageous” and rejected the suggestion that Article 8 prevented reporting of the allegations.

The former member, who said they had experienced domestic abuse, also accused the party of hypocrisy for relying on the European Convention when Reform has advocated leaving it.

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