Reform’s new Welsh deputy leader Laura Anne Jones says a colleague was misleading when he said he had the most support to become party leader.
James Evans claimed last week that he would not take part in the contest to be leader even though most of his party’s Senedd members wanted him in the role.
On Wednesday Jones told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast she did not recognise that to be the case and did not know why Evans said it.
In response, Evans insisted he had “considerable support” but said it was time to “move on”.
Helen Jenner was elected as Reform’s Welsh leader on Monday to replace Dan Thomas, who quit following his arrest on suspicion of assault and coercive or controlling behaviour.
In a statement made after his arrest Thomas said he had “done nothing wrong”.
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Published1 day agoLaura Anne Jones elected Reform’s deputy Welsh leader
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Jones, Senedd member for Sir Fynwy Torfaen, said Jenner would be a “dynamic leader” and a “good choice the whole group can now get behind”.
“We’ve got a united front again,” she said.
Asked about Evans’ claim that he had majority support, she said: “James says a lot of things.
“It’s not something that I recognise to be the case at the time. That’s all I’m going to say. Helen has extremely strong backing here and everyone can easily get behind her.”
Pressed on whether she thought Evans had been misleading, she said: “It is, yes. Absolutely. I think the result speaks for itself.
“James is a great politician. But on this, I don’t know why he said what he did. The process is the process. There are a few stages to go from when he pulled out.
“I don’t really understand why he said that.”
In response, Evans said in a statement he “had considerable support from colleagues”, and was “grateful to everyone who encouraged me to stand”.
“Following discussions with my family, I made the decision not to put my name forward, so ultimately those numbers were never tested in a contest,” he said.
“Helen has now been elected leader, the process is over, and it’s time to move on, get on with the job and give her my full support.”
Reform had not made the results of the votes for leader and deputy leader public.
Although Jenner had confirmed that Senedd colleague Jason O’Connell had also sought to be leader, the party had not said who had run against Jones.
Asked what she won by, Jones said she had not been allowed to “tell anything about the actual internal process, and it’s not right to do so”.
She said: “What is important now is that we look forward, and we’ve got two strong women at the helm. We’re firing on all cylinders.
“It’s been a crazy old week but we’ve come out of it stronger than ever.”
Evans called journalists to a press conference on the members’ balcony at the Senedd last week, a day after ex-leader Thomas announced he would quit.
Evans, Member of the Senedd (MS) for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, then announced that he would not stand in the contest and said he hoped the party “can unite behind a single candidate”.
“I had [the] majority of support in the group, but I do not think a competition at this time will be beneficial for anybody,” he said.
Both Jones and Evans are former Conservative MSs, with Jones the first to defect to Reform in the summer of 2025, before Evans joined the following February.
When he was still a Conservative, Evans had criticised Jones for defecting to Reform, accusing her of having no “principles”.
Jones later shrugged off the comment, saying Evans had just been “playing the game”.
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