Latest news with #defection
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Reform's Laura Anne Jones has no principles, Tory MS says
Welsh Conservatives have rallied around to attack a former Senedd colleague after she defected to Evans accused Laura Anne Jones of having no principles, while Tom Giffard said Reform was welcome to someone who was "always in the news for the wrong reasons".It comes as two councillors in Conwy left the Tories for Anne Jones was unveiled by Nigel Farage as the party's first Senedd member at the Royal Welsh Show on Tuesday. Reform said Jones had made "a principled decision" to join the party. Jones told a news conference for the announcement: "I've just suddenly felt that the Conservative Party was unrecognisable to me. It wasn't the party that I joined over three decades ago."She said Reform "is listening to the people of Great Britain" and called party leader Nigel Farage "a great man".Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast on Wednesday, Evans said: "Laura Anne Jones is a close friend of mine."The Member of the Senedd (MS) for Brecon and Radnor said he first learned she was leaving for Reform at the time of the announcement. "Laura and I have spoken, and I've made my opinions very clear. I don't think she's made the right decision."I am a firm believer, if you are elected as a Conservative member of the Senedd, you owe it to the electorate, you owe it to your party, to see your term of office out as a Conservative.""Jumping to Reform, it seems that she doesn't have any principles."Evans added: "Everything about the Nigel Farage circus turning up here yesterday, I don't think he had the response he was expecting. "I heard him being booed. I heard him being jeered in some places, and a lot of people here don't trust what he's got to say."Because one minute he'll come here and say one thing, and then he'll go somewhere else and say something different.""They're not a credible option and they're not a credible party." Tom Giffard, MS for South Wales West, told BBC Radio Cymru's Dros Frecwast programme that one of the problems with Jones' defection was that the Senedd group had given Laura "a lot of support over the last few years"."This is the way she's chosen to do this, and it's not good enough."He said the Conservative Party in Wales "is pulling in the right direction. We have policies that I think are exciting"."The important thing now is that we've got rid of someone who was always in the news for the wrong reasons... Reform are welcome to have those headlines in the future." The defection comes just under a year since Jones apologised for using a racist slur about Chinese people in a WhatsApp has been investigated by the Senedd's standards commissioner Douglas Bain, a probe believed to be related to allegations of bullying by a senior member of that she is about to be cleared, Jones said she has seen the report and is confident "with the outcome".On Tuesday Farage said of the allegations facing her: "Let me assure you that she would not have come to us, and we wouldn't have accepted her, if we weren't confident that will all go away."A police investigation into complaints about her expenses found "no evidence of fraudulent activity". A Reform spokesman said: "Laura has made a principled decision to join a party that she believes truly represents her values and offers Wales a better future."It's clear from the reaction of Mr Giffard and Mr Evans that if anyone dares to challenge the establishment and their cosy status quo, they attack them personally rather than engage with the reasons people are leaving."Reform UK will continue to stand up for the people of Wales and push for a government that puts Cymru first." Who are the Conwy councillors who have defected to Reform? Meanwhile two Conservative councillors on Conwy Council have defected to Reform UK, the party has told Newyddion Montgomery and Louise Emery expressed "sadness" over their decision but said they "cannot stand by any longer" adding that "the two main parties have failed".Thomas Montgomery has served as the county councillor for the Tudno ward since 2022 and is currently deputy mayor of said: "Our politics and our country are broken. We need a party with vision, passion, and policies that deliver for working people and small businesses up and down Wales and the United Kingdom."Louise Emery has served as county councillor for Gogarth Mostyn since 2017, having previously been deputy leader and held other cabinet positions. She is also a current town councillor in said that Reform UK had a "manifesto of common-sense policies" and would "deliver change at local government, the Senedd, and in Westminster".The Welsh Conservatives have been asked to to a question on whether we can expect more defections from other parties, Reform UK said they "engage in regular conversations with members of all parties and independents," but that Reform "don't comment on private conversations".
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Who is Nigel Farage's latest Reform recruit? From drink driving conviction to ‘chav shooting' post
Welsh Senedd member Laura Anne Jones has defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK, becoming the party's highest-profile defection in Wales. Nigel Farage announced the news at the Royal Welsh Show, with Ms Jones – who was first elected in 2003 – saying she could longer justify Conservative policies on the doorstep. Standing alongside Mr Farage, she said: "I've just suddenly felt that the Conservative Party was unrecognisable to me. It wasn't the party that I joined over three decades ago." She said Reform, meanwhile, was "listening to the people of Great Britain". Ms Jones is the latest in a growing list of high-profile Tories to have defected to Reform, following former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry earlier this month, as well as Dame Andrea Jenkyns and former Wales secretary David Jones. Her defection means the Conservatives are down to 14 politicians in the Welsh Parliament, ahead of crunch elections next year. But who is Ms Jones? From waitressing to the Welsh Assembly Ms Jones was first elected to the then-National Assembly in 2003, becoming the joint-first Welsh Conservative female assembly member (AM). She had the backing of the Conservative Party despite a conviction for drink-driving in 2002, which saw her banned from driving for 12 months and fined £75. Jones said after the hearing: "I've never justified drink-driving and the decision is one I deserve. I've never done it on purpose." She had been earning £5 per hour as a waitress before she was elected. Ms Jones served one term, until 2007, before returning in 2020 after the death of Mohammad Asghar. She was re-elected in 2021, for South Wales East. She once used a racist slur in a WhatsApp chat Ms Jones hit the headlines last year when it emerged she had used a racist slur about Chinese people in a WhatsApp group chat. The Senedd member used the offensive term in an exchange about the Chinese-owned video app TikTok, writing: "No c****y spies for me!" She later apologised and issued a statement, saying the word was "unacceptable and I deeply regret using it". "I sincerely apologise for any offence this has caused," she added. She apologised for saying she wanted to shoot chavs In 2021, she was forced to apologise over old Facebook posts, in which she said she 'would like to do a spot of Chav shooting", and added it is "a shame that isn't legal." She also joked about shooting the then Labour leader, Ed Miliband, saying she would become the "perfect shot" if she had "ol' Red Ed to aim at." When she wrote the posts she was not an elected politician, although she had previously served as a member of the Senedd.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
First Reform member in Welsh Parliament after Tory defection
Reform UK now has its first representative in the Welsh Parliament after a defection from the Tories. Nigel Farage announced on Tuesday afternoon that Laura Anne Jones, the current member for South Wales East, had switched allegiances. Speaking at a press conference at the Royal Welsh Show, the Reform leader said: 'I am delighted to say that today is a big step forward for Reform UK in Wales.' The defection came as Reform steps up its efforts to win power in Wales at the Senedd elections scheduled to take place in May next year. Reform is aiming to end Labour's 26 years of domination in Wales and Mr Farage said his party was 'going all out to win'. Ms Jones said she had not informed the Conservative Party of her defection. Speaking alongside Mr Farage, Ms Jones said: 'After 31 years in the Conservative Party I have just suddenly felt that the Conservative Party was unrecognisable to me.' She added: 'I truly believe that I have joined a party in Reform UK that listens to people.' Ms Jones said that 'Wales is a complete mess' and she believed Mr Farage and Reform can 'take Wales forward into a great place'.
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Welsh Tory Laura Anne Jones defects to Reform
Senedd politician Laura Anne Jones has defected from the Conservatives to Reform, Nigel Farage has becomes the party's first Member of the Senedd. Her defection was announced at the Royal Welsh said she could no longer justify Conservative policies on the defection means the Conservatives are down to 14 politicians in the Welsh Parliament.
Sky News
a day ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones announces defection to Reform UK
Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones has joined Reform UK, the party has announced. The announcement was made on Tuesday at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells, Powys. The annual event is Europe's largest agricultural show and attracts thousands of visitors every year. The defection comes with less than a year to go until the Senedd election, when voters in Wales will elect 96 members to the Welsh parliament for the first time - an increase of more than 50%. Recent opinion polls have shown Reform UK and Plaid Cymru vying for pole position, with Labour in third and the Conservatives in fourth. Please refresh the page for the latest version.
