Senedd Tory leader 'not expecting further defections' to Reform

The leader of the Conservatives in Wales' parliament has said he is "not expecting any further defections" from colleagues, after he sacked his shadow health secretary for talking to Reform.

Darren Millar said the remaining Tory members in the Senedd had given him their 100% support after James Evans had the whip removed on Tuesday and became an independent Member of the Senedd (MS).

Evans' sacking followed fellow ex Tory Laura Anne Jones' defection from the party to join Reform in July.

Tory to Reform switches have also been going on in Westminster, with Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell joining Nigel Farage's party earlier this month.

"I'm not expecting any further defections," Millar told BBC Politics Wales on Sunday.

"I am expecting a hard-working, dedicated Welsh Conservative team to take us right through to those Senedd elections in May."

Evans, who had been elected as a Brecon and Radnorshire Conservative MS, claimed the whip was removed because he "raised serious concerns about the refusal of the UK Conservative Party to recognise the reality that our country is broken".

He openly criticised Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch last weekend for disagreeing with former senior Tory Jenrick's assessment that Britain was broken, after he was sacked over his own plans to defect to Reform.

But despite two departures, Millar said the Conservative group was still its "biggest ever Senedd team" with a total of 13 MSs.

"No one wants to see a colleague leave, but if that person is not committed 100% to your party and your cause, then I think there's an expectation that the leadership should take action," he said.

"My colleagues felt let down, our volunteers and activists and party members felt let down.

"And I think that people in Brecon and Radnorshire will also feel very let down that an MS, who was elected as a Welsh Conservative, was toying with the idea of jumping ship."