Tory MS quizzed as defection rumours mount

Emily Price

Speculation is mounting that Welsh Conservative Senedd Member James Evans could be about to defect to Reform UK.

It comes after the MS for Brecon and Radnorshire publicly criticised the leader of his own party and defended ex-minister Robert Jenrick who jumped ship to Reform last week.

In a post to X, Evans described Jenrick as a “good friend” adding that the Tories needed to show that they had changed.

He wrote: “I’m genuinely gutted that Robert Jenrick has left the Conservative Party. Robert is a good friend and has always been a great support to me.

“The Conservative Party really does need to show that it’s changed, and I’ll be doing all I can in Wales to help make sure we do!!”

Last week, the Welsh Conservative appeared on ITV’s Sharp End alongside several other politicians, including Reform UK councillor Francesca O’ Brien.

During the programme, Evans appeared to agree with O’ Brien on a number of points.

A Conservative source later contacted Nation.Cymru with “credible concerns” that Evans had been in discussions with Reform UK about defecting.

The source said: “Given the party’s recent decision to remove Robert Jenrick, it’s important that we are consistent in how standards are applied.

“If the party has concluded that engaging in, or being perceived to engage in, discussions about defection is incompatible with continued membership, then that standard must apply equally to everyone.”

Speculation

We contacted Evans on Friday afternoon (January 16) and asked if he was planning to change parties.

In a statement, he said: “I understand why there’s speculation following Robert Jenrick leaving the party and I recognise there’s a wider conversation happening about where politics is heading and why trust has been lost.

“After our time in UK Government, it’s right that the Conservative Party shows contrition and is willing to change, without defensiveness or denial.

“Wales, where the Conservatives have never been in power, needs change more than anywhere else in the UK. I’m part of a team in the Senedd focused on putting forward a credible plan to get Wales working again, and I’m proud to be contributing to that effort.

“It’s also important that politicians of all parties are honest about the risks facing Wales, including the consequences of a Plaid Cymru victory.

“Constructive scrutiny across party lines can work, we saw that recently on Sharp End as you have alluded to, and it’s something all of us should work together on.

“My focus is on doing the job I was elected to do, contributing to rebuilding the party where it’s needed, and keeping an open, honest approach to the challenges ahead.”

Dodged

However, when we pressed Evans on whether he was ruling out defecting completely, he appeared to dodge the question, saying he was on his way to the gym and had already provided an answer.

We asked Evans again if he would ever defect to Nigel Farage’s party and he again said he had already answered the question.

On Sunday, the shadow cabinet secretary for health appeared as a guest on BBC Politics Wales.

Prior to the show airing, he published a cryptic post to X telling viewers to “expect some sparks”. It fuelled further rumours that Evans would announce his defection on the programme.

During the show, he could been seen nodding along with Reform Councillor Jason O’ Connell.

Quizzed on his comments about Jenrick and whether he was about to perform a Tory-to-Reform switch too, Evans criticised his party’s record in Westminister.

He said: “I’m not coming on here to slate Robert Jenrick. I class him as a very good friend – and someone who is very strongly principled.

“Robert has made his choice and that is fine. but what I’m trying to say to my wider party is; we have to take some level of responsibility for the mess this country is in.”

Treachery

Evans went on to say that he didn’t think it was right that Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch had described Jenrick’s defection as treachery.

He said: “The party needs to change. I respect Kemi as a politician. I think she does have a backbone and I think she has a vision of where she wants to take the country.

“But I think she has to be clear in admitting, and my colleagues in Westminster need to do the same, admitting Britain is broken, it needs to change, the whole system needs to change.”

Asked whether Reform would accept Evans, Cllr Jason O’ Connell said the Tory MS’s views aligned with Reform’s – adding that perhaps they could have a conversation.

Evans said: “My views are clear, I have Conservative principles, yes some of them do align with Reform, and some of them don’t.”

During the summer last year when former Tory MS Laura Anne Jones defected to Reform, Evans hit out at his former colleague saying she didn’t have any principals and that Farage’s party was not a credible one.

Speaking on BBC Politics Wales, Evans said that despite being members of two different parties, he still regularly meets with Jones “for cups of tea” to discuss their political views.

‘Eventful’

After the programme, he posted an image of gym to X and wrote: “After an eventful day, to say the least, there’s nothing better than clearing the head with a solid session on the rowing machine!”

A Welsh Conservative source told Nation Cymru that Evans was an “attention seeker” who was deliberately fuelling speculation because he “enjoys the spotlight being on him”.

A separate Conservative source said: “Darren Millar must take action, at the very least by removing James from the Shadow Cabinet, or he risks undermining party discipline.

“It’s clear James is gravitating towards Reform and is quite open about it. Robert Jenrick was doing this and Kemi took action, Darren must do the same.”

On Monday (January 19) Evans published a post to X criticising Labour and Plaid and calling for voters to support the Welsh Conservatives in May. It was later edited to remove reference to the Welsh Tories.

We asked Evans why he altered the post. He read our messages and didn’t respond.

In May last year, a senior Reform UK source told us Evans had had a discussion about defecting to Farage’s party in November 2024 when he attended a farmers protest in Westminster.

Evans strongly denied the claims and the Reform source later said the party “wouldn’t have taken him anyway”.

‘Refused’

A separate Reform UK source alleged that on March 7th last year, Evans had told them that he wouldn’t be far behind his Conservative colleagues who had already jumped ship.

The source said: “Over the following weekend I understand he tried joining Reform UK again, but as was the case in the previous October – he was turned down because he insisted he would only join if he was offered No1 status on the party’s list of 6 Senedd candidates.

“The party quite rightly refused that and told him not to bother trying to join again.”

A few days later on March 12th, Evans published a post to Facebook lashing out at Reform.

He wrote: “Reform has no leader, no policies, just complaints and slogans.

“It’s easy to jump ship when things get tough, but real leadership takes courage and principles to drive change from within.

“I promise my constituents that I won’t sacrifice my values for political opportunity.

“Instead, I’ll stand firm and work with my Welsh Conservative colleagues to fix Wales for the benefit of everyone.”

In 2023 Evans caused outrage among some of his colleagues when he posed for a photo with Reform’s leader outside the Senedd. He later deleted the image from X after he received a backlash.