Reform UK Wales leader’s reason for delay in quitting London council doesn’t stack up

Martin Shipton

The reason given by Reform UK’s leader in Wales for delaying his resignation from a London council does not stack up, we have established.

Dan Thomas remained as a councillor in the London Borough of Barnet until submitting his resignation in December 2025, despite telling colleagues that he was moving to ‘the West Country’ in the summer of 2024.

At the time of his resignation, he told the Barnet News: “In 2024, I moved away from Barnet so that my wife and I can raise our young sons in the countryside and live closer to our families in south Wales. I was asked to avoid an expensive and disruptive by-election and so I continued to attend council meetings and assist residents.

“With a desire to start 2026 afresh, I am today stepping down from Barnet council. As the next council elections are less than six months away, a by-election will be avoided.

“I would like to thank everyone I’ve worked with over the last 19 years as a councillor, and for the support I received while leader of the council.”

Labour landslide

In 2022, following three years with Mr Thomas as the Conservative council leader, Labour won a landslide victory in the local elections and was able to form its first majority administration in the borough since it was established in 1965.

Mr Thomas retained his seat in the Finchley Church End ward, defecting to Reform UK in mid-2025.

When Mr Thomas finally quit the council, the chairman of Reform UK Barnet, Cllr Mark Shooter, told the Barnet Post: “For family reasons, Dan has now moved to an area outside London.

“Dan rightly felt it would not be appropriate to occupy a council seat while living a significant distance away. He was never part of the 63 candidates we will be fielding in the May 2026 Barnet local council elections, and he has acted with integrity by stepping down once the relevant period had passed—avoiding an unnecessary by-election and an avoidable cost to taxpayers.”

A by-election did not have to be held because less than six months remained until the full council elections in May 2026.

However, a by-election had taken place in Finchley Church End ward in March 2025, following the death of long-serving Conservative councillor Eva Greenspan.

‘Perfect opportunity’

Former Barnet Tory Mayor Brian Coleman told Nation.Cymru: “So there was a by-election, which would have been the perfect opportunity for him to resign – because it would have cost the council no more money to have a double by-election.”

At the time of Mr Thomas’s eventual resignation, his successor as leader of the council’s Conservative group, Cllr Peter Zinkin, said: “We look forward to the former councillor refunding his councillor’s allowance paid to him during his prolonged absence from Barnet.”

In 2025-26 the allowance for a backbench councillor like Mr Thomas was £11,509 per year.

We wrote to Reform UK’s media team, stating: “In the story below from the Barnet Post, Dan Thomas said he hadn’t resigned from Barnet Council despite moving away in order to avoid a costly by-election.

“However, a long-serving councillor representing the same ward as him died in January 2025, triggering a by-election that took place in March 2025. Mr Thomas could have resigned at the same time, and there could have been a two-seat by-election in the ward at no extra cost.

“Why did he not do so, and why did he make a misleading statement to the Barnet Post about the matter?

“We understand that he continued to be paid his councillor’s salary until he resigned in December 2025. Do you dispute that?”

Reform UK did not respond.

It is not the first time Reform has refused to answer questions about Mr Thomas’s personal circumstances.

‘Near Bath’

He told colleagues in Barnet that he was moving to “the West Country” or “near Bath”, but has since claimed that while he owns a house in Bath as part of a property portfolio,he actually lives in Caerphilly county borough.

In February Nation.Cymru asked Reform the following questions:

“His former Barnet council colleagues and others say they were told he had sold his house in Edgware and bought a home in the Bath area, where he was relocating for work and to be closer to family members in south Wales. This is different to moving to Wales in order to bring his family up here.

“When did he buy a house in the Bath area?

“Did he move into it after leaving Edgware?

“If so, when did he move in?

“Why did he buy a home in the Bath area if his intention was to relocate to Wales?

“Was his original intention to relocate to the Bath area?

“What is the address of the house in the Bath area?

“You claim that he is letting the house out. When did tenants move in? Did he buy the house as a “buy to let” property with a “buy to let” mortgage, with a conventional mortgage or for cash?

“What rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax did he pay on the property in the Bath area – the basic rate or an additional 5% because he owns another residential property?

“What is his wife’s name?

“You claim that he is living in Wales. What is his address and when did he move there? Does he own the property or is he renting it? If he has bought it, what rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax did he pay on the property in Wales – the basic rate or an additional 5% because he owns another residential property?

“If he is only renting in Wales, what is the explanation for that at a time when he has recently bought a house in the Bath area?

“Is he living with his parents or his wife’s parents or is this a discrete dwelling?

“Former colleagues of his have told us that he moved to the Bath area to work for a large financial institution. Is that the case and if so what is the identity of his employer?

“Did his accommodation plans change as a result of the plan to announce him as leader of Reform UK Wales?

“To repeat questions I put previously that have not been answered, what are the the circumstances under which he became leader of the party in Wales – was the first approach made by him or the party, and when did this occur; when was it decided by Mr Farage that Mr Thomas would be appointed the leader and on what basis was the decision taken?

“In addition, did the decision entail a change in Mr Thomas’s living arrangements in order to comply with the legal requirement that he lived in Wales in order to be a candidate for the Senedd?

“Does he appear on the electoral register in the Bath area or in south Wales, and if so when was he registered?

“Is his wife registered at the same address?

“Given the opaqueness relating to Mr Farage’s accommodation in Clacton, you will understand why these questions are detailed and designed to produce as much clarity as possible.”

None of the questions were answered.