Former deputy Helen Jenner unveiled as new leader of Reform UK in Wales
Eleanor Storey, Press Association
Reform UK has named Helen Jenner its new leader in Wales after the arrest and resignation of her predecessor.
Former deputy leader Ms Jenner, Member of the Senedd for Bangor Conwy Mon, will replace Dan Thomas, the party said on Monday.
Mr Thomas was named the party’s Welsh leader in February and led Reform to become the second largest in the Welsh Parliament at an election in May.
He said last week he was stepping down for “personal reasons” after he was arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour.
Ms Jenner, a fluent Welsh speaker and mother-of-two, was born in Neath and raised on Anglesey.
She left Wales to pursue career opportunities, spending a decade living and teaching in the north west of England and in London before returning to Anglesey in 2019.
She was named deputy leader in April and elected Member of the Senedd for Bangor Conwy Mon at the Welsh Parliament election in May.
Ms Jenner will now lead the largest opposition group in the Senedd.
In a statement last week, Mr Thomas said: “It has been the honour of my life to have been the leader of Reform Wales and see this party go from zero to 34 elected members and become the largest opposition group in Welsh history.
“With deep regret, I am now standing down from this position due to personal reasons.
“Over the weekend, I was reported to the police and was released without charge.
“I stress that I have done nothing wrong, but I do not want the coming headlines to be a distraction from the fantastic work our Senedd team is doing in holding this Government to account.
“I will continue to serve my constituents in Casnewydd Islwyn and will fully back whoever the group selects as its next leader.”
Speaking on the steps of the Senedd, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he thought Mr Thomas had been doing a “brilliant job”.
“I am sorry for his personal difficulties that he’s going through,” he added.
“No-one’s life is ever seamless and I am quite sure he will come out of these before too long.
“But it was pretty much untenable for him to continue as leader.”
Speaking to reporters, he added: “(Mr Thomas) had my support from the start, I think he’s a very competent man.
“I think he was a good leader of this group, I know they’re pretty gutted collectively.”
He added that he had spoken to Mr Thomas “at length” and said: “I still believe in him in every way.”
Mr Farage said of Ms Jenner: “I’ve known Helen for many, many years.
“She’s a determined campaigner, someone that I trust, and I think’s going to do a very, very good job.”
Ms Jenner told the Press Association: “It’s not an ideal situation, in the sense that I didn’t expect Dan Thomas to stand down, we were a good team.
“I was enjoying being deputy but it’s always a sense of duty, and I’m quite happy to have stepped up, it’s quite surreal.
“I feel like everybody’s uniting behind me, and we can carry on and get a great job done.”
Mr Farage said there would be a vote to choose a new deputy leader on Tuesday morning.
A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “Just months after the Senedd election, Reform has already seen its leader resign and one of its members leave the party.
“Alongside departures from its council groups in England, that raises serious questions about its stability and ability to deliver for the people it represents.
“People across Wales are facing real challenges and deserve serious, stable political leadership focused on their priorities.”
Plaid Cymru MS Rebeca Phillips said: “Reform UK have no interest in making a difference in the lives of people in Wales, and whoever Farage has chosen to be his next Welsh puppet makes no difference to that fact.
“While Reform UK in Wales try to appease their London bosses – Plaid Cymru is getting on with taking action on the priorities of the people of Wales, because we are answerable solely to the people of Wales, not Westminster.”
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Get more trusted Welsh news
Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.
Being endorsed by Nigel Farage seeing his past record with former Reform leaders in Wales such as Nathan Gill, a Russian-backed traitor currently spending 10 years in prison, to Dan Thomas, a violent thug who cannot hold his temper, speaks volumes about his judgment. I wonder what lame excuse will be made when Helen Jenner gets sacked as leader?
It won’t be long if the hate 32 behind her didn’t want her. More infighting pending instead of governing for the people.
She is effectively Reform’s last roll of the dice. The game played? Craps. Very apt for a party full of ex-Tory turds.
.
First question she should face, is she happy to share the Senedd steps with a man that encouraged a violent attack on a woman at the conference, the same man then used his TV show to set the attack hounds on another woman because she spoke up in Piddlington. Is she happy that the senior party members then went on to belittle the violent assault including one councillor using a metal pole with one MP saying “Booo hooo”.
Going to hazard a guess that she dare not say anything because reform has form with OKing abuse.
Well said. Is this the same Nigel Farage who sent Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin to Piddington to argue that placing 1,000 male asylum seekers in a disused army camp posed a safety risk to local women and girls? This is ironic seeing female protesters were physically and verbally attacked at their own party conference, as reported. The question is: who is protecting our women and children from Reform?
Her husband has said some nice things as well. Scroll down to Emmet Jenner.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crggy73m2ero
It seems, like attracts like. What a couple of lowlifes!
She says she joined his bandwagon because he’s a man of principle
His principle is abuse (likes trump, Tate etc.) and crypto bungs, The bloke lies for 70 quid, he begged up the IRA for £70. What will he do for 70 million.
Hope you’re not under the illusion thst I think she’s correct
Nah.
I can’t see her lasting long in this role or maybe most of the reform defects will move over to restore.
She has been ‘named’ as, ‘unveiled’ as but seemingly not VOTED IN as. Get on to Llyr chief whip boy to tell us please how she came to be their leader because at the moment, it clearly stinks of another undemocratic Farij imposed installation.
Jenner the beige option.
Least likely MS to get her collar felt by the police.
She needs to keep her pin stripe suited husband Emmett well buried.mind.
He is no Dennis Thatcher
Reform candidate for Ynys Mon;
He had this to say to Prime Minister quote
“PM: I want girls who are growing up today to know that they can achieve anything they want.”
Mr Jenner commented on the post:
“Like fertilising eggs & providing Y chromosomes.”
Born in Castell Nedd, raised on Ynys Mon and a fluent Welsh speaker. Ticks a lot of boxes yet is a bradwraig. What is the female equivalent name for a Dic Sion Dafydd?
She won’t last very long either. Mark my words.
Awful traitor.
How long do you think she will last?
The racist misogynists have a brown unelected bureaucrat in the upper dictatorship out east and at least one person of colour in the ‘Hate Wales 33’ who are now being led by a female. Nothing makes sense in Deformland.
Wonder what Laura Anne Jones did to upset Nigel. Overlooked again.
Even Nigel knows her limits – lots of mouth, light brain, and generally erratic. OK for rank and file rant stuff but not much else.
She has been all over him like a rash .Suspect her indoors at Clacton has insisted on some distance .
Who elected Farage as leader ? Who elected Thomas as leader?
Who elected Jenner as leader ?