Tory MS denies rumours he will defect to reform

Emily Price 

A Welsh Conservative MS has denied rumours he will defect to Reform UK ahead of the next Senedd election.

Shadow rural affairs minister James Evans dismissed the claim out of hand after a Tory activist told Nation.Cymru there were concerns he was likely to jump ship.

Mr Evans says that although he sympathises with some of the views expressed by Reform – he is still “fully committed” to the Tory Senedd group.

Reform is currently led by Clacton MP, Nigel Farage – someone Mr Evans posed with for photos earlier this year.

The party is expected to challenge Labour at the next Senedd election – whilst the Welsh Conservatives could lose seats.

‘Self serving’

Speculation over Mr Evans’s political affiliations have mounted in recent weeks following unusual activity on his social media channels.

A source pointed out to us that his Facebook and X accounts do not identify him as a Welsh Conservative politician.

His X bio reads: “Senedd Member for Brecon and Radnorshire. Shadow Minister for Farming, Food and Rural Affairs. Views are my own.”

Mr Evans’s X feed also shows that unlike his fellow Tory MSs, he hasn’t shared any posts from the Welsh Conservative’s main account since October.

On November 2, he published a veiled post to X which said: “I was raised to see being an elected official as a privilege dedicated to serving the public, which is why I chose to run for office in Brecon and Radnorshire. Unfortunately, self interest and party political interests often dominates the landscape.

“This is why we need to reduce the number of self serving individuals in elected roles and increase the presence of leaders truly committed to meaningful change in our communities and country!”

We asked Mr Evans’s whether his post was aimed at anyone in particular – he said it was just a “personal thought”.

Nation Cymru noted that despite Mr Evans overseeing the rural affairs brief in the Tory shadow cabinet, the official statements relating to agriculture on the Welsh Conservatives website have recently been in the name of the group’s leader, Andrew RT Davies.

‘Silly season’

A well placed source told us several MSs had become “fed up” with being “bumped” from official statements in place of Mr Davies the moment an issue becomes prominent.

We asked Chief of Staff Paul Smith why Mr Evans hadn’t been named in official statements during a week that thousands of farmers marched through London in protest of inheritance tax changes.

He hit out at our request for comment saying he didn’t realise it was “Christmas silly season” already.

Shortly after the exchange, several statements in Mr Evans’s name appeared on the Welsh Conservative website.

Mr Smith told us that Mr Evans hadn’t been named in statements because he was in London representing the Welsh Conservatives at the farming protest.

On Tuesday (November 19) the shadow rural affairs minister published several videos to X after marching through Whitehall with his fellow farmers.

But Mr Evans did not mention the Welsh Conservatives or the fact he is a Tory Member of the Senedd in any of his posts.

‘Speculation’

We asked Mr Evans if there was any truth to the rumours that he was planning to defect to Reform.

Mr Evans said: “I have seen the speculation surrounding my political affiliations, and I would like to take this opportunity to clarify my position.

“As a right-wing Conservative, I sympathise with some of the views expressed by Reform UK, particularly their focus on restoring common sense to politics.

“However, their position on Senedd expansion and calls for granting additional powers to the Senedd do not align with my views, nor do the overly simplistic solutions they propose to some of the most complex challenges our country faces.

“While I respect the right of individuals to explore different political paths, any rumours suggesting that I am defecting to Reform UK are unfounded.

“At present, I remain fully committed to the Conservative Party and I am determined to play my part in modernising the party to appeal to a broader electorate ahead of the 2026 Senedd Elections, with the goal of becoming the government-in-waiting in Cardiff Bay.

“My focus remains on restoring common sense to politics, listening to the hardworking people of Wales, and, most importantly, representing my constituents in Brecon and Radnorshire.”

We contacted Reform UK and asked whether Mr Evans had approached the party to discuss defecting – but we did not receive a response.