Nigel Farage has confirmed Reform UK’s new Welsh leader is Helen Jenner.

Ms Jenner, who has served as Wales’s deputy leader since April, is a former teacher and Senedd member for Bangor Conwy Mon.

Speaking from a press conference today, Mr Farage said: “Helen Jenner is now the leader of Reform in Wales, and the group leader in the Senedd. I’ve known Helen for many, many years. A determined campaigner, and I think she will do a very good job.”

Ms Jenner said: “I’m thrilled to have the support of my fantastic colleagues to lead Reform here in Wales.

“Back in May the voters gave us a clear mandate to smash the establishment and to bring common sense to Cardiff Bay.

“Week in, week out, that’s exactly what we’ve done, and we’re not going to stop until we get the real change Wales deserves.”

The announcement comes after Reform’s previous leader, Dan Thomas, was arrested last week.

Gwent Police said that a 45-year-old man from Aberbargoed, in Caerphilly, has been bailed pending further enquiries.

Nigel Farage Makes ‘Big Announcement’ as New Reform UK Leader in Wales Revealed

Nigel Farage has unveiled Helen Jenner as the new leader of Reform UK in Wales, moving quickly to replace Dan Thomas after his sudden resignation last week.

Jenner, the party’s former deputy leader in Wales and Member of the Senedd for Bangor Conwy Môn, appeared alongside Farage outside the Senedd in Cardiff on Monday as the leadership change was formally announced.

The appointment comes at a turbulent moment for Reform in Wales. Thomas stepped down after Gwent Police confirmed that a 45-year-old man from the Aberbargoed area had been arrested on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour. He was subsequently bailed pending further enquiries. Thomas has said he was released without charge and insists that he has done nothing wrong.

Farage sought to portray the change as a temporary disruption rather than a major change of direction for the party.

Speaking alongside Jenner, he said Reform could have done without what he described as a “bump in the road”, while making clear that he continued to support Thomas personally.

But with Reform having made major gains at the May Senedd election, Jenner now takes charge of a Welsh political group that has attracted considerable attention since entering the new Senedd.

Helen Jenner takes the leadership

Jenner was chosen by Reform’s Senedd members after an internal contest.

According to reporting by The Guardian, she defeated fellow Senedd member Jason O’Connell by 17 votes to 15, with one member apparently not voting. The narrow margin means Jenner begins her leadership with the task of bringing together a parliamentary group that has recently experienced considerable disruption.

Reform itself confirmed that Jenner would become both leader of Reform UK Wales and group leader in the Senedd.

Farage praised her as a determined campaigner whom he had known for many years.

“I’ve known Helen for many, many years,” he said, describing her as someone he trusted and saying he believed she would do a very good job.

Jenner said she was “thrilled” to have the backing of her colleagues.

She also immediately pointed to the party’s performance in May, arguing that Welsh voters had given Reform a clear mandate to challenge the established political parties.

Her message was that the party would continue pursuing the programme it had presented to voters rather than allowing the leadership change to derail its work in Cardiff Bay.

Farage addresses Dan Thomas’s departure

The appointment of Jenner follows a rapid sequence of events involving Thomas.

Thomas became leader of Reform Wales in February, just months before the Senedd election.

He subsequently led Reform to a major breakthrough in Wales. Following the May election, Reform became the largest opposition group in the Welsh Parliament, with 34 elected members according to Thomas’s own statement following his resignation.

However, Thomas announced on September 15 that he was stepping down as leader for “personal reasons”.

His statement followed the confirmation that he had been arrested by Gwent Police.

The police said the arrest concerned allegations of assault and engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour. Thomas has denied wrongdoing and said he did not want the investigation and resulting headlines to distract from Reform’s work in the Senedd.

He remains a Member of the Senedd and has said that he will continue representing his constituents.

Farage said Thomas had been doing a “brilliant job” but acknowledged that continuing as Welsh leader had become difficult under the circumstances.

He said it was “pretty much untenable” for Thomas to remain leader while dealing with the issues surrounding the police investigation.

Farage also confirmed that Thomas would remain involved with the party.

The police investigation is ongoing, and the allegations against Thomas have not been established as fact.

Jenner’s political background

The new leader brings a different background to the role.

Jenner was born in Neath and raised on Anglesey. She went to university in Bangor and worked as a teacher for 15 years before entering politics.

She was elected to the Senedd in May 2026, representing Bangor Conwy Môn, and subsequently served as Reform’s shadow cabinet minister for education and the Welsh language.

She had also been Reform’s deputy leader in Wales since April.

Her political career predates Reform UK. She previously stood as a Brexit Party candidate at the 2019 general election and was involved with UKIP, which was previously led by Farage.

Jenner is also a fluent Welsh speaker, a detail that has attracted attention given the importance of language policy within Welsh politics.

Her constituency is in north Wales and includes areas around Bangor and Anglesey.

Her immediate challenge will be to turn that background and her existing experience within the Senedd group into effective leadership.

Another leadership vote is coming

The changes do not end with the appointment of Jenner.

Farage said Reform will hold a vote for a new deputy leader in Wales.

That means the party’s leadership structure is still being rebuilt following Thomas’s resignation.

The deputy leader position could become particularly important as Jenner seeks to maintain cohesion among Reform’s Senedd members.

Her victory over O’Connell was close, and although the candidates have reportedly agreed to support whoever won, the result demonstrates that there were competing preferences within the group.

The new leadership team will therefore face the task of presenting a united public position while accommodating different views within the parliamentary group.

Sarah Cooper-Lesadd’s defection

The leadership crisis has also coincided with the departure of another Reform MS.

Sarah Cooper-Lesadd defected from Reform to Plaid Cymru shortly after Thomas announced his resignation.

She cited disagreements with the direction and organisation of Reform, according to reports.

Her move was significant because it came only months after the Senedd election, when Reform had emerged as a major force in Welsh politics.

The defection has allowed political opponents to question Reform’s internal cohesion.

Welsh Labour said that Reform had already experienced the resignation of its leader and the departure of a member only months after the election.

The party argued that these developments raised questions about Reform’s stability and its ability to provide political leadership in Wales.

Plaid Cymru also criticised Reform, while Jenner’s supporters have emphasised that the party remains focused on its parliamentary programme.

Reform’s electoral breakthrough

The background to the leadership change is important.

Reform entered the 2026 Senedd election with ambitions to significantly increase its representation. The result transformed the party’s position in Welsh politics.

Thomas described the achievement as taking Reform from zero to 34 elected members and becoming the largest opposition group in the history of the Senedd.

That electoral breakthrough means Jenner inherits an organisation with considerably more influence than the one Thomas took over earlier in the year.

The challenge is maintaining that momentum.

The new leader will need to ensure that Reform’s members can effectively scrutinise the Welsh Government, develop policies and communicate the party’s priorities to voters.

At the same time, she will face continued scrutiny over the party’s internal organisation.

What Jenner has promised

In her first remarks as leader, Jenner emphasised continuity.

She said Welsh voters had delivered a clear mandate in May and argued that Reform would continue challenging the political establishment.

“We’re not going to stop until we get the real change Wales deserves,” she said.

The statement indicates that Jenner intends to maintain the political direction associated with Reform rather than reposition the party following the leadership change.

Her experience in education and the Welsh language may also shape her priorities.

As a former teacher, she has direct professional experience in an area that is a major responsibility of the Welsh Government.

Her ability to speak Welsh could also prove useful as she attempts to establish herself as one of the most prominent Reform figures in the Senedd.

Farage wants the party to move forward

For Farage, the announcement was an opportunity to demonstrate that Reform had moved rapidly to resolve the leadership vacancy.

He described Jenner as someone he trusted and said he expected her to perform well.

At the same time, his comments about Thomas showed that he does not regard the former Welsh leader’s departure as the end of his relationship with the party.

Thomas remains a Senedd member and has said he will support his successor.

The immediate priority for Reform is therefore to prevent the leadership change from overshadowing its wider political programme.

A difficult first test

Jenner’s first months as leader will provide an important test of Reform’s organisation in Wales.

She must establish authority after winning a closely fought internal vote, oversee the appointment of a new deputy leader and maintain cooperation among Senedd members.

She will also have to respond to criticism from Labour and Plaid Cymru while demonstrating that Reform can operate effectively as a major opposition group.

The circumstances of Thomas’s resignation will continue to attract attention while the police investigation remains ongoing.

However, Jenner’s appointment means Reform now has a permanent Welsh leader rather than operating under an interim arrangement.

The question for the party is what comes next.

Farage has presented the leadership change as a “bump in the road”. Jenner has presented herself as ready to continue the work Reform began after its breakthrough election result.

Whether that transition produces greater stability will depend on how effectively the new leader manages her Senedd group and turns Reform’s electoral gains into sustained parliamentary activity.

For now, the headline announcement is clear: Helen Jenner is the new face of Reform UK in Wales.

She takes over at a moment when the party has more representation and influence in the Senedd than ever before, but also at a time when its internal organisation is under unusually close scrutiny.

Her leadership will determine how Reform responds to that challenge in the months ahead.