Reform UK has extended its influence into Welsh politics with the defection of another Conservative politician.
Former Tory Laura Anne Jones has joined forces with Nigel Farage to become the first member of the Senedd (MS) for the party.
Her decision to switch allegiances was announced publicly with Farage at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells, Powys, on Tuesday 22 July.
The Reform leader described it as a “big step forward for [the party] in Wales” while Jones said she could “no longer justify” Tory party policy on the doorstep.
The 46-year-old’s defection follows the decision of former Tory Welsh Secretary David Jones to join Reform earlier this month.
Nigel Farage and former Conservative Member of the Senedd, Laura Anne Jones, at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show (Photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty)Laura Anne Jones was first elected to the then Welsh Assembly in 2003, at the age of 24, becoming the Conservative spokeswoman on sport.
The farmer’s daughter won the seat despite being banned from driving for a year in 2002 for drink-driving.
Before her election, the University of Plymouth politics graduate had been working as a waitress at a restaurant in a hotel in Usk, Gwent.
She remained a Senedd member for the South East Wales region from 2003 to 2007.
She contested seats at the 2015 and 2019 general elections but failed to win.
In 2017, she became a councillor for Monmouthshire County Council until 2022.
And in 2020, she replaced the late Mohammad Asghar as MS for South Wales East, becoming the Shadow Minister for Equalities, Children and Young People in early 2021.
She was re-elected to the Welsh parliament in 2021 and took on the role of shadow minster for education, a post she kept until April 2024 when she was given the shadow culture portfolio.
Her time in office has not been without controversy.
In 2021, she posted on Facebook that she would like “to do a spot of Chav shooting”. She later apologised for her comments.
In August last year, she used a racist slur about the Chinese in a WhatsApp group chat about TikTok. She later apologised, saying it was “unacceptable and I deeply regret using it”, adding “I sincerely apologise for any offence this has caused”.
Last year also saw her investigated by both South Wales Police and the Senedd’s Standards Commissioner in relation to allegedly falsifying expenses claims.
In December 2024, she was cleared by the South Wales Police, finding “no evidence of fraudulent activity”.
The Senedd’s Standards Commissioner report has not yet been published.
Laura Anne Jones said she could no longer justify Tory policies on doorsteps (Photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty)What has she said about defecting to Reform?
Writing about her decision in The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday 22 July, Ms Jones said, “Breakups are never easy…even when things have gone on too long, it’s hard to leave, because there are still nice moments”.
But she said: “When I decided to leave the Conservative Party, it was a plaster I knew I had to rip off.”
Describing herself as “a loyal member for 31 years”, she recounted how she had stuck with the party through its ups and downs.
“Even when it became a party that I no longer recognised, I held onto my love for the members, the activists, and some brilliant colleagues in Wales and Westminster, who I will always admire greatly”, she said, “But the fact is, that the Conservative Party has left them, much in the same way as it left me.
“The party that I had fallen in love with had changed beyond recognition, in thought, in word, and deed.”
Instead, she said she now believes Reform “is the only party that now represents decent hard-working people, with traditional, patriotic values”.
“I believe Reform is the only party committed to driving that waste out of government, putting the cash back into our frontline services and opening Wales back up for business”, she wrote.
She added: “I, like many people across Wales and the UK, have had enough.
“Wales is crying out for the common sense governance that I believe only Reform can offer.
“Real change in Wales is long overdue.
“There is so much to undo and put right, and Reform is the only party that is able to stop Labour and Plaid getting into bed together once again.”
Concluding, she claimed joining Reform meant she was “now part of the solution, not the problem”.
Speaking at the Royal Welsh Show where she announced her defection, 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.
“Wales is a complete mess. As you know, we’ve got the worst educational outcomes. We’ve got health statistics that are the worst in the UK.
“Farmers are getting battered, pensioners are getting battered… we can’t have this go on.”
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