Overview

• Laura Anne Jones, who represented South Wales East from 2003–2007 and returned in 2020, formally left the Conservatives at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells on July 22
• Reform UK leader Nigel Farage hailed the defection as the party’s most high-profile recruit in Wales and a boost to its credibility ahead of next year’s vote
• Jones said after 31 years in the Conservative Party it had become “unrecognisable” and she could no longer justify its policies on the doorstep
• An ITV Cymru Wales poll shows Reform UK at 25% support, narrowing the gap with Plaid Cymru’s 30% as both vie for second place behind Labour
• Next year’s Senedd election will increase members from 60 to 96 seats, a change that has intensified strategic defections and reshaped party dynamics