Reform Wales regional director made disparaging remarks about Farage and called for voters to back the Welsh Tories

Emily Price 

A senior Reform Wales figure published disparaging remarks about Nigel Farage online and begged voters in Wales to back the Welsh Conservatives. 

Historic posts to X, formerly Twitter, show that Reform UK’s current Regional Director for Wales, Torfaen Councillor David Thomas, accused Clacton MP Farage of “fooling everyone” and said he didn’t “trust his motives”.

During April 2019, in a discussion about the newly launched Brexit Party – now known as Reform UK – Cllr Thomas wrote: “A new political party is a long time coming.

“Just a shame this one is headed by Farage.”

In another post during an online discussion about Farage, Cllr Thomas, wrote: “I don’t particularly have an issue with him I suppose it’s more that I don’t trust his motives.

“After all when 2016 referendum results came through and we got Brexit he disappeared.

“He should have stayed to see it all through all the way. After all he had the momentum at the time.”

In another post, the Torfaen Councillor appeared to troll Farage directly sending him a comment which stated: “I’m guessing if you manage to fool everyone again and get what you want you will run off like you did after 2016 referendum result?

“Only this time leaving ‘the brexit party’ high and dry.”

In a post published on April 23, 2019, Cllr Thomas told Twitter users he was “no fan” of Farage.

But he appeared to U-turn less than a month later when he began tagging Farage in supportive posts.

Commenting on a post published by Farage on May 13, 2019, about a BBC interview, Cllr Thomas wrote: “BBC is a political platform for the establishment that was clear to see.

“I personally think Andrew Marr embarrassed himself and Nigel Farage you handled it perfectly.

“And from now on that’s how these biased reporters and presenters should be handled.”

In another post tagging Farage’s Twitter account, Cllr Thomas told followers he had matched his tie to the Brexit Party’s colour.

By August, the then independent councillor announced he would stand as the Brexit Party candidate for Torfaen in the 2019 general election.

The election resulted in a Conservative victory with the party winning 365 seats in Westminster while the Brexit Party did not win any.

In 2021, David Thomas, began referring to himself as “the bald Clarke [sic] Kent”, claiming his new glasses would help him spot “bullshit” in the Senedd.

During the run up to the 2021 Welsh election, he threw his support behind the Welsh Conservatives.

Two days before the vote on May 5, Thomas published a video to Twitter pleading with voters in Torfaen to trust him and lend their vote to the Welsh Tories.

In the video still available to view on the senior Reform figure’s X timeline, he said: “In the 2019 general election I stood for the Brexit Party and almost 6,000 people in Torfaen trusted in me and voted for me.

“You trusted in me and voted for me because you wanted to see change in Torfaen.

“I’m asking those 6,000 Brexiteers that voted for me in the 2019 general election to trust me again – to lend your vote to Gruff Parry and the Welsh Conservatives.

“Because they are the only party that can unseat Labour here in Torfaen and bring about the change that we all so desperately want to see.

“Please, vote tactically, don’t waste your vote on the small parties – because it will only end in Labour regaining the seat.

“So to all the Brexiteers – there are nearly 6,000 of you – who voted for me and trusted me, vote for Gruff Parry, vote for the Welsh Conservatives, vote for change, and when we wake up on May 7th we may finally see a new era in Torfaen.”

In another video published online days before the Senedd election, Cllr Thomas said: “I’m backing Gruff. You back Gruff. Vote for the Welsh Conservatives.”

Gruff Parry received 26 per cent of the vote in the 2021 Senedd election having been beaten by Labour MS Lynne Neagle who received 45 per cent of the vote.

By 2024, Thomas has began warning his social media followers, “Never trust a Tory”.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Conservatives declined to comment on Cllr Thomas’ supportive pro-Tory videos.

Thomas was first elected as a councillor in Torfaen in 2017 while standing for Labour before later became an independent.

In 2022, he published a video of himself in an imitation news room telling voters he had left the Labour Party to become an independent councillor because it was better for the electorate to look at an individual rather than “blindly voting” for a political party.

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— Cllr David Thomas (@cllr_thomas) February 11, 2022

In November 2022, less than a year after the Brexit Party officially changed it’s name to Reform UK, Thomas tagged Farage in a post to X saying: “If the old gang is getting back together and Nigel Farage will make a true comeback to save this country, then I may well consider a return myself.

“After all I think I was the 3rd highest in votes in the whole of the Brexit Party back in the 2019 GE.”

He announced his official defection to Reform in 2024 amid accusations he had tried to rejoin the Labour Party first.

A Reform UK source described Cllr Thomas as a “village idiot with zero judgment” – however they added that the Torfaen councillor is considered a favourite of Farage’s inner circle and is expected to stand at the next Senedd election.

We contacted Cllr Thomas and asked him a series of questions:

*Do you change your political colours based on how likely it is that you will win in an election?

*Do you truly believe Reform UK is the best party to lead Wales or will you change your mind further down the line?

*Why were you trolling Nigel Farage in 2019? What made you suddenly decide to throw your support behind him?

Cllr Thomas did not respond.