REFORM WALES: Neath-born former teacher Helen Jenner is the party’s new Senedd leader

A former teacher born in Neath is the new leader of Reform UK in Wales.

Helen Jenner, the MS for Bangor Conwy Môn, was elected by the party’s Senedd members on Monday morning, six days after Dan Thomas stood down.

She had been Thomas’s deputy since April, and has been Reform’s spokesperson on education and the Welsh language.

Raised on Anglesey, she is a married mother of two who taught for 15 years before winning her seat in May, according to the party.

She stood for the Brexit Party at the 2019 general election, having earlier been a member of UKIP when Farage led it.

She said: “I’m thrilled to have the support of my fantastic colleagues to lead Reform here in Wales.”

“Back in May the voters gave us a clear mandate to smash the establishment and to bring common sense to Cardiff Bay,” she said.

“Week in, week out, that’s exactly what we’ve done, and we’re not going to stop until we get the real change Wales deserves.”

Farage: ‘We could have done without this bump in the road’

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage unveiled her on the steps of the Senedd, with the party’s MSs lined up behind them.

He told reporters he had known her “for many, many years”, calling her “a determined campaigner” who would do “a very, very good job”.

Of Thomas’s departure, he said the party “could have done without this bump in the road”, but was “making the best of it”.

He said he was “sorry for his personal difficulties”, adding: “No one’s life is ever seamless and I am quite sure he will come out of these before too long.”

But he said it had been “pretty much untenable” for Thomas to continue as leader.

He said a vote to choose Jenner’s replacement as deputy leader would be held on Tuesday morning.

Thomas says he was released without charge. Police say a man was arrested and bailed

Thomas stood down on 15 September for what he called personal reasons. In his resignation statement he said he had been reported to police and “released without charge”, and that he had done nothing wrong.

Gwent Police said at the time that a 45-year-old man from the Aberbargoed area had been arrested on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour, and had been bailed pending further enquiries. The force did not name the man.

Thomas stays on as the MS for Casnewydd Islwyn.

Minutes after his resignation, Sarah Cooper-Lesadd defected to Plaid Cymru, saying Reform was “not serious about governing Wales”. That left Reform with 33 MSs to Plaid’s 44.

Reform down seven points in latest Wales poll

Jenner takes over with Reform’s Westminster support in Wales down seven points since May, to 19%, in a YouGov poll for ITV Wales published on Friday. Labour is up 10 points to 18%, and Plaid Cymru leads on 27%.

For the Senedd, the same poll puts Reform on 27%, down from the 29% it won in May, behind Plaid on 32%.

Labour: ‘changing the leader won’t change the fundamental problem’

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said a new leader would not fix “the fundamental problem with Reform in Wales”.

The spokesperson pointed to Cooper-Lesadd’s parting claim that Reform treated the Senedd as a staging post for Farage’s run at Downing Street, and said: “Helen Jenner is a longstanding supporter of Farage, and people deserve to know what will change under her leadership.”

“Just months after the Senedd election, Reform has already seen its leader resign and one of its members leave the party,” they said, adding that this raised “serious questions about its stability and ability to deliver for the people it represents”.

Plaid: ‘Farage’s next Welsh puppet’

Plaid Cymru’s Rebeca Phillips, the MS for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd and a former Trebanos councillor, said Reform had “no interest in making a difference in the lives of people in Wales”, and that “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,” she said.

Sir Gaerfyrddin MS: ‘People are fed up with business-as-usual’

Gareth Beer, Reform’s MS for Sir Gaerfyrddin, congratulated her, calling her election “an important step forward for our party and for Wales as a whole”.

“People across Sir Gaerfyrddin and Wales are fed up with business-as-usual in Cardiff Bay,” he said. “Helen understands these issues deeply.”

He said he looked forward to working with her “to deliver a strong, unified voice for our rural areas”.

Reform won 34 of the Senedd’s 96 seats in May, and holds seats across Swansea Bay, including two in Gŵyr Abertawe and three in Sir Gaerfyrddin.