Another one bites the dust. After Kemi Badenoch expelled Robert Jenrick from the Conservative party in Westminster, it seems that her Welsh counterpart Darren Millar this week wants to get in on the act too. This morning he released a statement on X, declaring that he expelled James Evans MS from both the Welsh shadow cabinet and the party grouping in the Senedd. Millar wrote:
This morning, I took the decision to remove James Evans from the Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet and withdraw the Conservative whip. I did so after being informed by James that he was continuing to engage with Reform representatives about the possibility of defecting to the party, in spite of his personal assurances on Friday that he had rejected an approach they initiated last week. Understandably, I expect all Welsh Conservative MSs and candidates to be 100% committed to our party and our plan to fix Wales. Regrettably, James was unable to give me that commitment.
Evans hit back by saying:
I have been concerned for some time over the direction of the Conservative Party at a UK level and I feel it no longer represents my conservative values and beliefs. Politics should be a broad church of views and opinions, and it is a sad day when the Party does not allow free speech or criticism. I respect my Welsh Conservative colleagues, particularly Darren Millar MS as Leader and Paul Davies MS, but I feel the UK Conservative Party no longer represents my views and values. My focus remains 100% on representing the people of Brecon & Radnorshire to the very best of my ability. I will take some time in the coming weeks to consider my political future.
He intends to now sit as an independent. But Steerpike suspects it won’t be long until he’s joining Laura Anne Jones as one of Reform’s first two Senedd members…
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