Nigel Farage praised the former Barnet Council leader’s “battle-hardened experience” following this morning’s announcement reports David Floyd

Reform UK’s new leader in Wales has thanked the people of Barnet for trusting him as he launches his bid to become first minister in the principality.

Dan Thomas, who led Barnet Council, as a Conservative between 2019 and 2022 was unveiled this morning by Reform leader Nigel Farage as his party’s candidate for the top job in Cardiff.

Thomas left the Tories to join Reform in June 2025 before quitting as a councillor in December in order to spend more time in Wales.

Following the announcement, Farage told the BBC that it was Thomas’s experience in Barnet that made him the right man for the job. He said: “I had lots of other candidates but none with the battle-hardened experience of running big budgets which is exactly what he did when he ran Barnet Council.”

In a statement issued by Reform’s Barnet branch, Thomas reflected positively on his time in the borough. He said: “It’s a huge honour to lead Reform in Wales. Barnet and its people will always mean a great deal to me – they trusted me, and I hope that I managed to repay that trust during my time as leader of the council.

“I’ve come home to Wales to finish what I started: using every lesson learned in this great borough to smash the broken system here, take back control for our communities, and deliver the change Wales desperately needs.”

The party’s remaining councillor in Barnet, Mark Shooter, expressed the local party’s contentment at their former colleague’s new role. He told Barnet Post: “As a former leader and deputy leader of Barnet Council, and a member of the Barnet Reform UK group, Dan brings over 20 years of local government experience. His time in Barnet gave him first-hand insight into the structural weaknesses, waste, and complacency that became embedded under the old two-party system.

“While operating within that environment, Dan consistently pushed for restraint and discipline, helping to keep council tax down for years despite growing pressures.

“Dan embodies the values of Reform UK: responsibility with taxpayers’ money, competence over ideology, and delivery over excuses. Those who worked with him in Barnet know his work ethic, integrity, and determination to do things differently when the old ways were no longer working.

“Barnet Reform UK is proud to see one of our own take this next step. Dan is well-placed to offer Wales serious, credible leadership.”

The new Welsh leader’s final departure from Barnet Council in December had prompted a war of words with his Conservative former colleagues.

At the time, Conservative group leader Peter Zinkin told the Post: “Former Cllr Dan Thomas, having defected to Reform UK just months ago amid much fanfare about their “growing movement” in Barnet, has moved out of the borough, making it impossible for him to properly represent local residents. His belated resignation only highlights the fleeting nature of Reform’s presence in Barnet.

“This is the end of Reform UK’s group on Barnet Council. We look forward to the former Cllr refunding his councillor’s allowance paid to him during his prolonged absence from Barnet.”

These comments prompted an angry response from Thomas, who told the Post: “Cllr Zinkin’s comments are disingenuous and hypocritical” before adding “Their response is indicative of a dishonest, clapped-out party that is frightened of Reform, who I predict will do very well in May’s local elections.”

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