Welsh Tory leader's staff defect to Reform on eve of conference

Two senior aides to the leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh Parliament have defected to Reform UK just days before the Tories' party conference.

The defections emerged on the eve of Friday's conference in Llandudno, where leader Darren Millar will tell members that Reform "isn't a serious party" and is more interested in selling merchandise than forming a government.

Millar's former deputy chief of staff Zak Weaver and senior communications officer Tomos Llewelyn quit the Tories to work for Members of the Senedd (MSs) representing Nigel Farage's Reform.

The Welsh Tories have been asked to comment.

Millar will make his pitch for the 7 May Senedd election this weekend, with opinion polls suggesting the Tories could come fourth.

In the run up to the election Millar has seen a series of high-profile defections from his party to Reform, including two of its former MSs - Laura Anne Jones and James Evans.

In the UK Parliament former Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick defected last month.

On Thursday BBC Wales learned that the two former Welsh Tory senior backroom staff members Weaver and Llewelyn had also left.

Weaver is also standing as a Tory candidate in an upcoming by-election for Penarth town council.

He is expected to make clear that he plans to become a Reform councillor if he is elected.

Millar told the BBC in January he was not expecting any further defections among his group of politicians in the Senedd.

In his conference speech Millar is expected to describe Plaid Cymru and Reform as a danger to Wales' national and economic security.

"Plaid want everyone thinking they are a bunch of friendly moderates, but they are nothing of the sort. They are extremists," he will say.

He said a Plaid government "would focus their time, energy and attention on their ultimate aim - to rip Wales from the UK.

"Independence would jeopardise people's pensions, and ability to live, work, or study elsewhere in the UK."

Plaid Cymru has said it would not try to hold a referendum on independence in a first term of a Plaid government, should it win the election.

Millar will say Reform "like to wag their fingers and identify problems, but they offer no credible solutions".

"They don't want to be in government after the elections in May, they are terrified of the responsibility," he will say.

"Nigel Farage himself has acknowledged that his party isn't ready for government and said that he simply wants Reform to be the largest opposition party. That's because Reform isn't a serious party.

"Reform is a limited company more interested in selling football shirts and merchandise at events, than running a country. Their conferences are not serious political events. They are end of the pier performances."

Millar will also describe Wales as "broken" after 27 years of Welsh Labour government rule, with failing education and health systems.

"Labour has no solutions to these problems. They have failed our schools. Failed our NHS and failed our economy," he will say.

"Wales is the sick man of Britain. It's not good enough."