Reform UK Wales leader Dan Thomas is stepping down after an arrest on suspicion of assault.
Why it matters: The move creates an immediate leadership headache for Reform UK as it tries to build credibility in Wales and beyond. It also adds legal and political pressure on a party that just became the main opposition in the Senedd.
- Dan Thomas, Reform UK’s leader in Wales and a Senedd member, is standing down.
- He was arrested on Sunday, Sept. 13, on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour, according to Gwent Police.
- Thomas said he was stepping down for personal reasons and said he had been reported to police and released without charge.
- Reform UK won 34 seats in the May 2026 Senedd election and became the Official Opposition.
Dan Thomas, Reform UK’s leader in Wales and a member of the Senedd, is standing down after being arrested on suspicion of assault and coercive or controlling behaviour, according to reporting from The Guardian.
Thomas said he was stepping down for personal reasons and said he had been reported to police and released without charge.
Gwent Police said that on Sunday, Sept. 13, a 45-year-old man from the Aberbargoed area was arrested on suspicion of assault and engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour and was bailed pending further inquiries.
Thomas was announced as Reform UK’s Welsh leader by Nigel Farage in February 2026 and was elected to the Senedd in May 2026. Reform UK then emerged from the 2026 Senedd election with 34 seats, making it the Official Opposition to the Plaid Cymru-led government.
The resignation comes the same day Reform faced further scrutiny in Wales, including a Senedd defection to Plaid Cymru, adding to the pressure on the party’s Welsh operation.
By the numbers
- 34 seats - Reform UK’s haul in the May 2026 Senedd election, making it the Official Opposition
- Sept. 13, 2026 - the date of the arrest reported by Gwent Police
- 45 years old - the age of the man police said was arrested
Yes, but: Thomas has said he was released without charge, and the police statement says he was bailed pending further inquiries.
What's next: Gwent Police said inquiries are ongoing. The timing and mechanism for naming Thomas’s replacement as Welsh leader was not confirmed in the available sources.