Helen Jenner unveiled as Reform UK’s new leader in Wales after arrest of Dan Thomas

Nigel Farage with Helen Jenner, the new leader of Reform in Wales, at the Senedd in Cardiff on Monday. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA View image in fullscreen Nigel Farage with Helen Jenner, the new leader of Reform in Wales, at the Senedd in Cardiff on Monday. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA Helen Jenner unveiled as Reform UK’s new leader in Wales after arrest of Dan Thomas Nigel Farage dismisses loss of previous leader as ‘bump in the road’ and says party will ‘carry on as if nothing has happened’ Nigel Farage dismissed the loss of Reform UK’s leader in Wales last week as a “bump in the road” as the party unveiled a replacement. Helen Jenner replaces Dan Thomas, who stood down last Tuesday after he was arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviours. Jenner, who was previously the party’s deputy leader in Wales, narrowly beat her rival, Jason O’Connell, in a poll of its 33 Senedd members. She joined Farage on the steps of the Senedd, where he said Reform would “carry on as if nothing has happened”. Thomas announced last week that he was standing down after his arrest. He has been bailed and insists he has done nothing wrong. The former Tory councillor, who remains a member of the Welsh parliament, was only announced as Reform’s Welsh leader in February. Jenner is from Neath, near Port Talbot in south Wales, and represents Bangor Conwy Môn in the Senedd. Farage said of Thomas: “I am sorry for his personal difficulties that he is going through. But it has happened, we are making the best of it.” Thomas issued a statement last Tuesday after intense speculation about his future, saying that he had been reported to the police the previous weekend 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,” he said. Gwent police said a 45-year-old man from the Aberbargoed area had been arrested on 13 September “on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour. He has been bailed pending further inquiries”. Thomas was perceived , which caused tensions, but Jenner is a Welsh speaker who has a track record of involvement with Farage’s parties and was elected to her new role by colleagues. skip past promotion after promotion She was a general election candidate for the Brexit party in 2019, and before that was a member of Ukip under Farage’s leadership.