Reform UK Wales leader left out of Power Rankings List
Martin Shipton
The right wing political blog Guido Fawkes has produced a Reform Power Rankings list of prominent party figures – but neither Reform UK’s leader in Wales Dan Thomas nor its leader in Scotland Malcolm Offord have so far made the cut.
Political sources in Wales from other parties but also from Reform have made reference to Thomas’s lack of charisma and personality since he was presented to the people of Wales by Nigel Farage in February.
In an article published by Nation.Cymru last week, Professor Richard Wyn Jones wrote of the election campaign led by Thomas: “Despite claiming that it expected to win in Wales, it was only in February that [Reform] finally managed to unveil its First Minister candidate– the (still) almost completely unknown Dan Thomas. Subsequently, it was the last of the serious contenders to announce its slate of candidates for the election, with that announcement itself the source of some serious discontent within the party’s own ranks.
“Does any of this matter? In terms of the 7th of May, as I’ve already suggested, probably not. But I suspect it does matter in terms of the ability of Reform to maintain a cohesive, effective Senedd group over the next four-year term – something that UKIP singularly failed to achieve after its breakthrough result in the 2016 devolved election. It almost certainly matters for Reform’s prospects in the local government elections in Wales in just over a year’s time.
“While they may well tell us that it’s ‘Time for Reform’, on the evidence of the 2026 Senedd election campaign, Reform itself seems far from ready.”
The Guido Fawkes Reform Power Rankings list for April, voted for by Guido Fawkes readers, is unsurprisingly headed by Nigel Farage, followed by his deputy Richard Tice; former Tory MPs Danny Kruger and Robert Jenrick; the party’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf; former Tory MPs Lee Anderson and Suella Braverman; Westminster City councillor Laila Cunningham; parliamentary by-election victor Sarah Pochin; former Tory MPs Andrew Rosindell and Andrea Jenkyns; Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor Luke Campbell; and former Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Guido didn’t present Dan or Malcolm as an option within their power rankings so one to take up with them.”
A spokesman for Guido Fawkes said: “The Guido Fawkes Reform Power Rankings list is expanding in accordance with its growing popularity. Offord and Thomas will appear. The monthly rankings are the definitive record of team Reform’s fortunes.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
This will be an unpopular opinion, but the two debates I’ve seen with him, he has looked far better a debater and has better ability to think on his feet that the other leaders. it probably says more about the quality of some of our politicians, who have had a very easy ride for the past 5-10 years. Obviously, I don’t agree with much of what he says, and he does mis-represent certain issues (like a couple do, in fairness), but he is certainly be an effective opposition party leader. That is assuming he can hold his lot together –… Read more »
Why aren’t we being told more about his impressive career as a high flying banking executive. It leaves us to speculate that he only worked in a bank’s post room for 5 years before becoming a career politician.