Party insists he lives in Wales despite owning home across the border

REFORM UK has confirmed that its newly appointed Welsh leader Dan Thomas owns a house in the English city of Bath, but maintains he is currently living in Wales with his family.

The row follows reporting by Nation.Cymru, which questioned whether Mr Thomas had relocated to Wales as claimed when he was unveiled as the party’s figurehead ahead of the next Senedd Cymru election.

Mr Thomas was introduced to supporters at a rally in Newport by Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, who said the former London Conservative council leader had “returned to his roots” in the Valleys to raise his young family.

Mr Thomas has also publicly stated that he lives in Wales.

However, the Welsh news site reported that he had sold his London home and told former colleagues he was moving to the Bath area for work and to be closer to family.

Following publication of the story, a Reform UK press officer contacted the outlet insisting: “Dan lives in Wales. Any claim to the contrary is entirely false. He lives here in Wales, where he is raising his young family.”

When pressed further, the party acknowledged that Mr Thomas owns property in Bath, but said it is rented out and not his main residence.

The clarification prompted a series of additional questions from journalists, including when the Bath property was purchased, whether he ever lived there, and why it was bought if the intention had always been to relocate to Wales.

They also sought confirmation of where Mr Thomas is registered to vote and the circumstances around his appointment as Reform UK’s Welsh leader.

According to the publication, those questions were not answered directly. Reform UK instead repeated that Mr Thomas “lives here in Wales with his wife and children” and called for the original article to be removed.

In a subsequent video statement, Mr Thomas described the coverage as a “smear”, saying political opponents were “rattled” and inviting “credible, trustworthy journalists” to visit him for “a cup of tea” to prove he lives in Wales.

The issue matters because candidates seeking election to the Senedd are expected to demonstrate a clear residential link to Wales.

Reform UK has not provided further detail about Mr Thomas’s living arrangements.

This article is based on reporting first published by Martin Shipton at Nation.Cymru and is rewritten with attribution.

A CALL to allow a Pembrokeshire village garage, which once housed an NHS worker during the Covid pandemic, to stay as an Airbnb holiday let has been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Mark and Ann Pugh, of Wolfscastle, sought retrospective permission on behalf of their son and daughter-in-law, Stephen and Natalie Pugh, for the conversion of a single storey garage to a self-catering holiday let ‘Meadow View’ within the grounds of Little Longhouse, Wiston.

A supporting statement said, during 2017 the garage was converted into a habitable space, used by family and friends between July 2017 and March 2020, before being let to an NHS worker up until December of that year during the Covid lockdown.

It added: “In 2021 it continued to accommodate family and friends. In 2022 and 2023, the property was used as a self-catering holiday unit, advertised on Airbnb under the name Rose Cottage. Since the beginning of 2024, it has been marketed as Meadow View on Airbnb and Booking.com, continuing its role as a self-catering holiday unit.”

It added: “Meadow View is the second holiday rental at Little Longhouse, following the successful establishment of Clover Cottage, which has been operating as a holiday let since 2013. This application seeks retrospective consent for Meadow View as a second unit of holiday accommodation within an established holiday enterprise at Little Longhouse.”

It went on to say: “Meadow View further contributes to local accommodation diversity by offering a small, one-bedroom, ground-floor unit, making it particularly suitable for individuals with limited mobility.

“The holiday letting business at Little Longhouse is operated and managed primarily by the applicants’ daughter-in-law, who resides at Little Longhouse. The business is her primary source of income/employment and helps ensure that residing in the rural community of Wiston is viable.”

The application was conditionally approved by county planners.

PUPILS at St Oswald’s VA Primary School welcomed a visit from local Senedd member Samuel Kurtz on Monday (Feb 2), as children put questions to him about how Wales is governed.

Years five and six pupils took part in an interactive session where the Senedd Cymru member explained the role of the Welsh Parliament, how laws are made, and how elected representatives support local residents.

He outlined what a Member of the Senedd does day-to-day, how decisions affecting communities are taken, and why taking part in democracy is important.

The pupils were then given the chance to quiz him directly, raising questions about politics, local issues and how young people can make their voices heard. Staff said the children showed strong interest and came well prepared.

Speaking afterwards, Mr Kurtz said: “It was a real pleasure to visit St Oswald’s and see such enthusiasm and curiosity from the pupils.

“Understanding how democracy works and how decisions are made is important, and it is encouraging to see young people taking an interest in how their community and country are run.

“I was particularly impressed by the quality of the questions, which showed they had clearly done their research.”

Teachers described the visit as a valuable opportunity to bring lessons about citizenship and Welsh democracy to life.

The school visit forms part of Mr Kurtz’s ongoing programme of meeting with schools, community groups and residents across Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire.