Former Barnet Council leader replaced as Reform chief in Wales

Dan Thomas was recently arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling behaviour, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

The Senedd in Cardiff and (inset) Dan Thomas

A former Conservative leader of Barnet Council has been replaced as head of Reform UK in Wales – after being arrested on suspicion of assault.

Dan Thomas, who served as the leader of the local authority from 2019 to 2022, stepped down from his senior role with Reform last week (Tuesday 15th).

It followed his arrest by Gwent Police on Sunday, 13th September on suspicion of assault and controlling behaviour.

Thomas, who was a Barnet councillor for Finchley Church End ward from 2006 to 2025, was bailed pending further enquiries, and denies any wrongdoing.

Thomas has now been replaced by Helen Jenner, a Senedd member who has been promoted from her role as deputy leader of Reform’s operations in Wales.

Speaking today (Monday 21st), Reform UK leader Nigel Farage MP described Thomas’ resignation as a “bump in the road” that happened as a result of “personal difficulties”.

Thomas was only appointed as leader of Reform in Wales in February. It followed a controversial decision to defect from the Conservatives in June 2025 before formally resigning from the council last December.

The manner of Thomas’s departure from the local authority was criticised by its Conservatives members. Last December Peter Zinkin, who took over as leader of the council’s Tory opposition group, described Thomas’ “belated resignation” as reflecting “the fleeting nature of Reform’s presence in Barnet”.

Thomas responded, saying the borough “and its people will always mean a great deal to me”, adding that he hoped he repaid the trust of residents during his time as council leader.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting last Tuesday (15th), Simon Radford, cabinet member for financial sustainability, joked that he was “very relieved” to have been told that he had “one of the most difficult jobs in local politics”.

Conservative councillor David Longstaff, not wishing to pass up the opportunity to highlight the predicament of the former leader, responded and said: “I appreciate you’ve got a difficult job – maybe not quite as difficult as the Reform leader in Wales – but, still, a difficult job.”

In June 2025, Reform UK claimed that Thomas’ defection represented a “powerful endorsement” of its “growing movement” in the borough. The party failed to win a single seat on Barnet Council at May’s local elections.

Explaining the appointment of the former Tory leader earlier this year, Farage 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.”

Addressing the press following Jenner’s appointment on Monday, Farage said it was “pretty much untenable” for Thomas, who remains a member of the Welsh parliament, to remain in his leadership position.

Nevertheless, Llŷr Powell, chief whip for Reform in the Senedd, has said he has not considered removing the former Barnet figure from the parliamentary party.

In a statement released last week after his arrest Thomas said: “I stress that I have done nothing wrong, but I do not want the coming headlines to be a distraction from the fantastic work our Senedd team is doing in holding this government to account.”

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