Tory MS accused of defection approach after lashing out at Reform
Emily Price
A Welsh Conservative MS who lashed out at Reform UK in a recent podcast interview had talks about defecting to the party late last year, a senior party source has claimed.
A senior Reform UK insider told Nation.Cymru that Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, James Evans, had a discussion about jumping ship to Nigel Farage’s party in November when he attended a farmers protest in Westminster.
Evans has very strongly denied Reform’s claim.
The revelation comes after the MS for Brecon and Radnorshire appeared as a guest on the For Wales, See Wales Podcast where he predicted that a Reform led Welsh government would “fall apart on day one”.
‘Egos’
In the episode, which went live on YouTube on Thursday (May 1), Evans said: “I think they’d quite happily sit on the side, watch and say ‘we’ve been an effective opposition, please vote for us at Westminster and we will try to either abolish the Senedd’ or do something crazy along those lines to try and win votes.
“I just don’t think they’re a serious contender. I think they’d walk into Cathays Park on day one, if they did manage to get enough numbers, and we’d be run by the civil service for the next four years.
“I just do not think they’d be able to pull a program for government together. They haven’t even got a leader, I think they’ll fall apart on day one, because they’re going to all walk into the Senedd, all sit down with all these big egos around the table and think ‘one of us here is going to have to be the First Minister of Wales’.”
‘Splinter group’
He added: “I know some of the individuals involved, and I guarantee six or seven of them all want to be First Minister. As soon as that starts being dangled in front of them. [Some] will probably turn around say ‘well we’ll form a splinter group, because we’re not happy with that.
“And if we form a splinter group, maybe we can get a few extra committee positions or a leader of an opposition money’. That’s how they’ll work.”
Reform UK currently doesn’t have a Welsh leader but is fronted by Clacton MP Nigel Farage – someone Evans has previously posed with for photos.
Recent polling shows that Welsh Labour, Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are bunched together on voting intentions for next year’s Senedd election, whilst the Tories are lagging behind on 15%.
Evans told the For Wales, See Wales Podcast that he thought Reform’s popularity was down to the “dangerous” rhetoric being used by the party.
He said: “I find it quite scary actually. I was talking to somebody on the weekend about the Reform’s messaging and using scapegoats and simple slogans for very difficult, complex issues.
“Reforms arguments of using certain elements and demographic of the population as scapegoats for all our country’s problems is dangerous rhetoric in my opinion.”
When we approached Reform UK for a response to Evans’ comments – a senior source said they were shocked because the Tory MS had told Reform staff last year that he was considering defecting.
‘Sinking’
The source said: “Mr Evans talks about Reform having no leader yet we have the most popular leader in Wales, Nigel Farage and unlike Darren Millar, people actually know who he is.
“It seems that Mr Evans has had a dramatic change of heart after openly telling staff members in Reform that he was contemplating defecting us, not that we would have taken him anyway.
“We look forward to watching James go down with the sinking Tory ship.”
They added that the discussion took place six months ago in London when Evans – a farmer himself – took part in a protest against Labour’s proposed changes to inheritance tax for farmers.
At the time the Brecon and Radnorshire MS was overseeing the rural affairs brief in the Senedd shadow cabinet.
On the day of the protest, several Conservative sources contacted Nation.Cymru with concerns that that Evans may defect to Reform.
But several days later the Welsh Conservative MS dismissed the claims out of hand telling us that although he sympathised with some of the views expressed by Reform – he was still “fully committed” to the Tory Senedd group.
In a statement released today, James Evans said: “The claim that I was considering defection to Reform is simply not true.
“While I sympathise with some of their calls for more common sense in politics and greater efficiency in government, I am and have always been fully committed to the Conservative Party, as I have been my whole life.
“I will be working closely with Darren Millar to fix Wales and bring about the change that our country so desperately needs.”
When Evans’ attended the farmers protest in London last year, the Conservatives in the Senedd were being led by South Wales Central MS Andrew RT Davies.
He was toppled from the top spot in December by seven members of his own shadow cabinet – Evans included – amid a row over the group’s stance on devolution and Davies’ use of social media.
Davies’ Chief Whip Darren Millar was later coronated the new leader of the Senedd Tories and Evans was appointed the new shadow health secretary – arguably the largest and most complex shadow cabinet brief.
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Reform are a wrecking ball. farages grift, ukip through brexit party through to reform and the massive danage done to the UK that farage doesn’t like to talk about, same prophet for sale at the front all the way through that has not got a single thing right.
And look who reforms owner admires. Coming to the UK if he ever gets power, minus. NHS because that will be gone in a flash.
I’m not saying the Tories are an appalling bunch of disgusting liars…..but I’m going to take what he says with a bucket full of salt.
But you believe the very trustworthy Reform UK when they throw mud at him?
Absolutely not. Reform are just Tories with delusions of grandeur.
Well, to be fair, there was one grain of truth in here,
“I just do not think they’d be able to pull a program for government together. They haven’t even got a leader, I think they’ll fall apart on day one, because they’re going to all walk into the Senedd, all sit down with all these big egos around the table and think ‘one of us here is going to have to be the First Minister of Wales’.”
Wales, you have been warned.
To be fair James Evans has always been critical of Reform. At least when I’ve listened to him. That Reform are saying James Evans wanted to be a member could just be their usual nonsense and exaggeration? Actually it’s good to hear a member of the Tory party attacking Reform. The Tories have to do that and stand their ground otherwise they will disappear
The whole Welsh Con group should jump ship to Reform. I don’t think anyone will mind. It has to be better than the gaggle of alleged reprobates that will be parachuted in.
Hopefully he’ll be behind bars for treason and neglect post-indy
Was he only given the shadow health brief, which, as the article notes, is complex, because he threatened to defect?
It would explain why this guy, who, no disrespect intended, is not the sharpest tool in the box (watch the video, make up your own mind) was given the role.
The lack of intellectual confidence may be why he attacked Reform in terms that the podcast hosts would have agreed with. All of them were much brighter than him so perhaps he tried to avoid a row where it would have been more apparent?
I don’t agree with your assessment. As someone who lives in his constituency, I can say he comes across as genuine, relatable, and is well liked locally. That kind of connection with people matters.
Whatever your political views, calling him “not the sharpest tool in the box” feels unnecessarily rude. Criticism is fair, but let’s not dismiss someone’s contribution or character like that.
Rats jumping a sinking ship comes to mind. Learn from your mistakes Wales. Are you considering voting for a party or a personality? Nigel Farage cares not for Wales. Just look at the damage Brexit has done to our country. His actions are responsible for thousands of desperate asylum seekers risking their lives to cross the channel. Brexit caused this. And less we forget. Before we left the EU, France was duty-bound to stop those asylum seekers , which they did. They were effectively trapped in Calais in those camps. And anyone informed would remember BBC & ITN reporters interviewing… Read more »