A former Conservative council leader has been unveiled by Nigel Farage as the leader of Reform UK in Wales before the Senedd elections in May.
Dan Thomas, who was born and grew up in the South Wales Valleys, led Barnet Council from 2019 until 2022 and defected to Reform from the Conservatives in June last year.
He later quit as a councillor for Finchley Church End after returning to his home country with his family.
Farage told the International Convention Centre Wales in Newport that he had picked Thomas – who referred to supporters as “the people’s army” – to lead the party in Wales because he is “battle hardened”.
“I picked Dan because he is decent, respectable, he tells a story of someone who had to go away and loves Wales so much he wants his own children to grow up in a similar environment to what he grew up in,” Mr Farage said.
“Above all, I picked him because he is battle hardened and he has been in the front line before of running budgets and many other things.
“I think we deserve at Reform UK here in Wales to be led by somebody who has been battle hardened, who has been there before, and will keep calm through good and bad.
“You will get both in a campaign and who knows what will happen between now and May 7th.”
Supporters at the event gave Farage multiple standing ovations, as well as standing and cheering for Thomas and James Evans – a former Conservative member of the Senedd who announced he was defecting to Reform.
Thomas said he had been “born and raised” in the Welsh Valleys before leaving for London to pursue a career in financial services, which he did while serving as a councillor and council leader.
He told the conference that after 27 years away, he was “back home” to raise his two young sons in the “same beautiful Welsh countryside” he had played in as a child.
Speaking about the upcoming Senedd elections, Mr Thomas said: “We are fighting to win, fighting for every vote because this is the last chance for Wales.
“We are at a turning point. We either settle for another four years of the same or we break the mould, start again and fulfil our potential. Wales is broken. Wales needs Reform.”
During his speech, Mr Thomas said: “I’ve seen what uncontrolled immigration has done to London over the past 20 years, the pressure on public services, schools, hospitals, the congestion and the community cohesion issues.
“I’ve seen what weak and woke policing has done to law and order in London and I don’t want to see Wales go down the same path as London.”
Mr Thomas said Reform would unveil an ambitious manifesto and candidates at a later date.