Laura Anne Jones, a long-standing Welsh Conservative Member of the Senedd who represents south east Wales, has dramatically defected to Reform UK.

The announcement was made this afternoon at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show, where she appeared alongside Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage MP.

Jones, who has represented the South Wales East region since 2020 and previously served in the Senedd from 2003 to 2007, has been a member of the Conservative Party for over three decades. But today, she said she no longer believed the party represented the values of the Welsh people.

“The Conservatives failed us when last in power,” she said. “Labour, both in Westminster and in Wales, are completely incompetent. There is so much to undo and put right, Reform is now the only party that stands up for hard-working people with traditional, patriotic values.”

Her move follows a turbulent year in Welsh politics.

© South Wales Argus