Nigel Farage appoints new Reform Wales leader as Labour says party is now ‘run by Tories’

Reform UK unveiled Thomas at a rally in Newport, where Farage said he had chosen a “battle‑hardened” figure with experience running large budgets and leading a major London borough. Thomas will now front the party’s push for seats in May’s Senedd election, appearing in TV debates and representing Reform in Wales.

The event also confirmed that former Conservative MS James Evans had joined Reform — a move widely expected after he was sacked by the Welsh Conservatives last month for holding talks with the party. Evans’ switch gives Reform two members in the Senedd, but the focus of the Newport rally was firmly on Thomas’s appointment.

Welsh roots, London career, and a return home

Thomas told supporters he was originally from Blackwood, with family roots in the Valleys stretching back generations. He said both his grandfather and great‑grandfather were miners, and that he left Wales as a young adult because opportunities were “few and far between”.

He spent nearly three decades in London, working in financial services and rising through the Conservative Party to become leader of Barnet Council from 2019 to 2022. He later served as opposition leader until May 2024.

Thomas twice stood as a Conservative parliamentary candidate in Islwyn, finishing second to Labour both times. He defected to Reform in June 2025 and moved back to Wales later that year, saying he wanted to raise his young sons closer to family and the countryside he grew up in.

Asked how connected he was to Welsh politics after so long away, Thomas said he had “kept abreast” of events and remained “very informed”.

‘A huge honour’ — Reform’s new Welsh leader speaks out

Dan Thomas, Leader of Reform Wales, said the party had built a “strong team” and would be fighting for communities who feel ignored by mainstream politics.

“It’s a huge honour to lead Reform here in Wales,” he said. “We’ve built a strong team and we’ll get stronger still between now and May and beyond.

“Every day we will be fighting for our forgotten communities and everyone the establishment has ignored for so long.

“This May, vote Reform to deliver the change Wales desperately needs.”

James Evans: a defection already in motion

Evans’ appearance with Reform followed weeks of speculation. He had been sacked by the Welsh Conservatives and stripped of the whip after admitting he had been “continuing to engage” with Reform representatives, despite previously giving assurances he had rejected an approach.

Farage publicly denied speaking to Evans personally, saying he had not talked to him “for a couple of years”. Evans had also previously ruled out defecting, writing that he would not “jump ship when things get tough”.

His move means Reform now has two Senedd members, following the earlier defection of Laura Anne Jones.

Labour: ‘Reform Wales is being run by Tories’

Welsh Labour issued a blistering response, accusing Reform of becoming a refuge for Conservative politicians trying to save their careers.

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said Farage’s claim that there were “no Tories left in Wales” was because “they’ve all jumped ship to Reform UK to save their own skins”.

They pointed to Thomas’s long London career as evidence that Reform’s Welsh operation was being directed from outside the country.

“And now we’ve got a man who was a London councillor until two months ago telling Wales what it needs,” the spokesperson said.

“Ultimately it doesn’t matter who is named as Reform’s leader in Wales. They will just be Nigel Farage’s puppet, doing his bidding from Westminster and silencing the voices of the people of Wales.

“You can’t trust their leader. You can’t trust their words. Reform UK’s leader in Wales is another former Tory. Reform Wales: led by Tories.”

A major shake‑up ahead of May’s Senedd election

Farage said he chose Thomas because he had “been in the front line” of running budgets and leading a large council, and because he represented someone who “went away and came back” to raise his family in Wales.

Reform is targeting seats across South Wales and the Valleys, with opinion polls suggesting the party could make significant gains. All 60 Senedd seats will be contested under a new voting system in May.

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NHS waiting lists still high – but Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda avoid worst delays

The latest figures show just under 793,100 patient pathways in July – the equivalent of more than 600,000 people waiting for treatment. That’s a slight fall compared with June, but the number of people waiting more than two years rose again to just over 8,000.

In Swansea Bay University Health Board, which covers Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, no patients are waiting more than two years for treatment or more than a year for a first outpatient appointment. In Hywel Dda University Health Board, covering Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, fewer than 1% of patients are waiting that long.

By contrast, other parts of Wales still have significant backlogs.

What the numbers show

• Around 56.6% of patients were waiting less than 26 weeks in July – a small improvement.
• About 265,700 people had been waiting more than 36 weeks (nine months). That’s roughly one in three of everyone on the list.
• Nearly 73,200 people were waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment – up slightly on June, but still well below the peak in 2022.
• The number waiting more than two years is 88% lower than the peak in March 2022, but has crept up again in recent months.

Political row over figures

The publication of the statistics has sparked a row after the Welsh Government began releasing provisional data a month earlier than the official figures, which normally have a seven‑week lag.

Opposition parties say the change is designed to make Labour look better ahead of next May’s Senedd election. Welsh Conservative health spokesman James Evans MS said:

“These figures represent yet another abysmal failure by the Welsh Labour Government, the longest waits are rising and progress is being lost yet again.”

Andrew RT Davies MS, former leader of the Welsh Conservatives, added:

“Patients across Wales will be deeply frustrated by the evaporation of progress on the longest waits in our NHS.”

Plaid Cymru’s health spokesman Mabon ap Gwynfor called the change in reporting:

“a clear attempt to manipulate the figures by Labour in the hope that they will look better immediately before an election.”

The Welsh Government denies this, saying there is “considerable public interest” in more timely data and that the move has been welcomed by the UK’s official statistics watchdog.

Government response

Welsh Health Secretary Jeremy Miles pointed to signs of improvement, highlighting that more people than ever are starting cancer treatment and that long waits are far below their peak.

He said:

“This month, 15,000 extra outpatient appointments are being provided across Wales which shows how we are increasing activity all over the country to ensure people are being seen quicker. I remain confident we will see a significant reduction in long waits by the end of the second quarter.”

Emergency and cancer care

The wider NHS remains under pressure:

• In August, just 65.4% of patients were seen within four hours in A&E, well below the 95% target. More than 10,400 people waited over 12 hours.
• Ambulance response times for the most urgent “purple” calls averaged 7 minutes 15 seconds, within target, but “red” emergencies averaged 9 minutes 15 seconds, outside the target.
• In July, 2,301 people started cancer treatment – the highest figure on record. But only 61% began treatment within the 62‑day target, short of the 75% benchmark.

What it means for our area

For people in Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda, the picture is mixed. The longest waits have been cleared or kept to a minimum, but thousands are still waiting months for treatment.

While politicians argue over targets and statistics, patients like those in Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire continue to face delays that can mean living with pain or uncertainty. One retired teacher from Ystalyfera told the BBC he paid £7,500 for a hip replacement in Lithuania after being told he faced a three‑year wait on the NHS.

#AndrewRTDaviesMS #HywelDdaNHS #JamesEvansMS #JeremyMilesMS #MabonApGwynfor #NHSWaitingList #NHSWales #patientPathways #SwanseaBayNHS #WelshGovernment

Welsh NHS waiting lists rise again — but ambulance handover times show marked improvement

The number of people waiting more than two years for NHS treatment in Wales has risen again, reaching 10,300 pathways in May — up 6.5% from the previous month. The overall waiting list now stands at 796,100 pathways, equivalent to nearly one in four people in Wales.

The figures have prompted criticism from opposition parties, with Welsh Conservatives accusing the Labour-led government of failing to meet its own targets. Shadow Health Secretary James Evans MS said the latest data “proves Labour’s health strategy is failing” and called for a health emergency to be declared to focus resources on reducing excessive waits.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS also condemned the figures, describing them as “a damning indictment of 25 years of Labour mismanagement in Wales.”

“These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, they are real people left to suffer in pain, anxiety and fear. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are clear, we won’t solve the crisis in our NHS without first addressing the crisis in social care. That means ending bed blocking and also investing properly in primary care and GP services, ensuring illness is caught and treated early, not when it becomes an emergency.”

Ambulance handover times improve at Morriston and Royal Glamorgan hospitals

Despite the rise in long waits, the Welsh Government has pointed to significant improvements in ambulance patient handover times, particularly at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, where delays fell by 70% in June compared to May. At Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, handover times dropped by 87%, with nearly three-quarters of patients transferred within 15 minutes.

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles, who visited Royal Glamorgan on Thursday, said the figures show that “our focus on improving ambulance patient handover performance is working,” and praised staff for their efforts.

A national taskforce has been established to tackle handover delays across Wales, aiming to free up ambulance crews and improve emergency department flow. The Welsh Ambulance Service also introduced a new purple category for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests on 1 July, alongside revised triage categories for other urgent conditions.

Cancer treatment and emergency care pressures

In May, more than 1,900 people started cancer treatment, and over 14,200 were told they did not have cancer, as performance against the 62-day target improved to 61.3%. However, emergency departments remain under pressure, with June recording the third-highest daily attendances on record. More than 10,000 patients waited over 12 hours in A&E — still far from meeting government targets.

Miles acknowledged the setback in long waits but said they are now 85% lower than the peak, and expressed confidence that the next set of figures will show renewed progress.

Local health board variation

According to Welsh Government data, Swansea Bay and Powys health boards currently have no pathways waiting longer than two years, while Hywel Dda and Aneurin Bevan each have fewer than 300 such cases. In contrast, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board continues to report the highest number of long waits in Wales.

#AE #AccidentAndEmergency #ambulance #ambulanceWaitingTime #healthEmergency #hospitalWaitingList #HywelDdaNHS #JamesEvansMS #Llantrisant #MorristonHospital #NHS #NHSWaitingList #RoyalGlamorganHospital #SwanseaBayNHS #waitingList #WelshAmbulanceServiceTrust #WelshConservatives #WelshGovernment