Nigel Farage has announced Reform UK‘s new Welsh leader. Helen Jenner will take on the role following the arrest and resignation of former leader Dan Thomas.
Reform leader Mr Farage said: “Helen Jenner is now the leader of Reform in Wales, and the group leader in the Senedd.
“I’ve known Helen for many, many years. She’s a determined campaigner and I think she will do a very good job.”
Reform made a spectacular breakthrough in Wales in May’s elections, going from having no seats at all in the Senedd to becoming the second largest party.
But the party suffered a setback last when Dan Thomas quit as the party’s Welsh leader, after he was arrested on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour.
He said: “Over the weekend, I was reported to the police and was released without charge.
“I stress that I have done nothing wrong, but I do not want the coming headlines to be a distraction from the fantastic work our Senedd team is doing in holding this Government to account.
Nigel Farage makes huge announcement after massive Reform UK blow
Nigel Farage has announced a major expansion of Reform UK’s political operation after a difficult period for the party, with tens of millions of pounds of new funding set to be used to build a much larger professional campaign organisation.
The announcement comes after Reform faced a series of challenges, including controversy over political donations, the suspension of senior officials and the resignation of its Welsh leader.
But Farage is now attempting to shift attention towards the party’s longer-term preparations.
The most significant element of the plan is the decision to use part of Reform UK’s new financial resources to recruit hundreds of professional campaign managers and staff across Britain. The Guardian reported that Farage intends to hire around 400 campaign managers in target constituencies as the party attempts to overhaul its branch network.
It represents a substantial change for a party that has historically relied heavily on volunteers and relatively small campaign teams.
£72 million changes the equation
Reform UK received two £36 million donations in September from cryptocurrency investors Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.
Together, the donations total £72 million, making them the largest combined donations received by a British political party since mandatory declarations began in 2001.
The scale of the money immediately generated political controversy.
Reform has said the donations are intended to help the party prepare for government and has denied that the donors expect anything in return. ITV reported that the party said neither donor would receive a peerage, knighthood or government contract if Reform entered government.
At the same time, questions have been raised about proposed changes to political-donation rules, particularly concerning overseas donors.
The government has proposed restrictions that could affect donations from British citizens living overseas, while the exact implications for Reform’s donations have been the subject of political and legal debate.
Farage has maintained that the donations comply with existing rules.
The money nevertheless gives Reform a very different organisational capacity from the one it had previously.
Farage wants 400 campaign managers
According to the Guardian, Reform plans to hire around 400 campaign managers in target constituencies.
The party has already begun advertising dozens of positions, including regional branch coordinators, campaign managers and specialist communications roles.
The purpose is not simply to employ people during an election campaign.
Instead, Reform wants to create a permanent political structure that can operate between elections.
That means maintaining constituency organisations, supporting candidates, recruiting volunteers, managing local campaigns and developing the party’s presence in areas where it believes it can expand.
The strategy represents an attempt to turn Reform from a relatively lean political organisation into something closer to the established parties in terms of infrastructure.
For Farage, this is an important distinction.
Winning attention is one thing.
Maintaining thousands of local activists, candidates and councillors across the country requires a much more complicated organisation.
Not everyone inside Reform is convinced
The spending plan has also exposed disagreements inside Reform UK.
The Guardian reported that some activists questioned whether employing large numbers of professional managers was the best way to use the new money.
One concern was that managers could not operate effectively without sufficient volunteers to carry out grassroots campaigning.
That disagreement reflects a broader challenge for Reform.
The party has grown extremely quickly, particularly following its strong performance in the 2026 local and devolved elections.
As the organisation becomes larger, the informal structures that worked when Reform was smaller may no longer be sufficient.
Professional management could provide consistency, but it can also create tension between paid staff and local members.
The question is therefore not simply how much money Reform has.
It is how effectively the party can convert that money into an organisation that works at constituency level.
A difficult September
Farage’s announcement comes after a particularly challenging period.
At the beginning of September, two senior Reform figures were suspended following an undercover investigation concerning the financing of polling commissioned by the party.
The Guardian reported that head of policy James Orr and senior Farage aide Dan Jukes were suspended after footage appeared to show them discussing arrangements involving a potential foreign donor. Reform launched an investigation and denied wrongdoing.
The controversy came just as Reform was holding its annual conference in Birmingham.
Farage was forced to address the issue publicly while attempting to keep attention on the party’s programme for its proposed first 100 days in government.
Reform said the individuals involved had not been authorised to behave as alleged and that the party had complied with electoral law.
The episode nevertheless created another layer of scrutiny around Reform’s finances.
The Welsh leadership crisis
The party has faced another organisational problem in Wales.
Dan Thomas stepped down as Reform UK Wales leader after saying he had been reported to police and released without charge following allegations of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour.
Thomas has denied wrongdoing.
On 21 September, Farage announced Helen Jenner as his replacement.
Jenner had previously served as Reform’s deputy leader in Wales and was elected to the Senedd for Bangor Conwy Môn in May. She had also previously stood for the Brexit Party and had been a UKIP member.
Farage described Thomas’s departure as a difficult situation but said he continued to support him.
The new leadership arrangement allows Reform to attempt to move forward after what Farage described as a setback.
However, the timing illustrates the organisational pressures facing a party that has expanded rapidly.
Reform’s polling position has also changed
The political environment has become more competitive for Reform.
A YouGov poll for The Times conducted on 20 and 21 September among 2,286 people put Reform UK on 21%, with the Conservatives also on 21% and Labour on 23%. The Greens were on 14%, while the Liberal Democrats were on 12%.
The poll represented a decline in Reform’s support compared with its previous measurement.
It also came amid continuing public debate about the party’s funding and internal controversies.
A poll, however, is a snapshot of public opinion at a particular moment. It is not a prediction of what will happen at the next general election.
The figures nevertheless help explain why Reform’s organisational investment matters.
If the party wants to maintain a nationwide presence until the next general election, it needs structures capable of operating continuously rather than relying on short bursts of activity during election periods.
The bigger ambition
Reform’s strategy is increasingly about becoming a permanent national political force.
The party made major gains in the May 2026 elections and became a significant presence in local government and the Senedd.
At its September conference, Farage and his colleagues also unveiled a series of policies covering immigration, energy, welfare, taxation and public services.
Reform has said that it would attempt to stop small-boat crossings within its first 100 days if it entered government, while also proposing major changes to energy and welfare policy. These remain Reform’s political proposals rather than current government policy.
Farage has also sought greater international cooperation with right-wing political movements in Europe.
Earlier in September, Reform and France’s National Rally signed a memorandum concerning cooperation on illegal migration and the return of people crossing the Channel from France.
All of these initiatives require political infrastructure.
A party cannot realistically campaign across hundreds of constituencies using a handful of senior figures.
That is why the new funding is so important to Farage’s strategy.
The risk of becoming too centralised
There is another question, however.
Reform UK has been strongly associated with Farage personally.
His leadership and public profile remain central to the party’s national identity.
Building a large organisation could help distribute responsibility and create stronger local structures. But it could also create new internal tensions if professional staff begin making decisions that local activists believe should remain under grassroots control.
The dispute over the 400 campaign managers demonstrates that this is not simply a theoretical concern.
Some members want more resources directed towards activists and local campaigning rather than management.
Farage’s challenge will be to persuade members that professionalisation is necessary without undermining the volunteer network on which the party has depended.
What happens next?
The immediate objective is clear: build.
Reform has money to spend, candidates to support and a national organisation to develop.
The £72 million donations give Farage access to resources on a scale the party has not previously possessed. ITV reported that Reform sees the money as a way of employing campaign managers and policy specialists while preparing for a future general election.
But financial resources cannot guarantee political success.
The party still has to recruit effective candidates, maintain local organisations, resolve internal disagreements and persuade voters that its policies address their concerns.
It must also navigate continuing scrutiny over political donations.
Meanwhile, Labour under Andy Burnham, the Conservatives, Greens and Liberal Democrats are all competing for different parts of the electorate.
The next general election is not expected before 2029, leaving Reform with a potentially long period in which to build its organisation.
A new phase for Farage
The latest announcement therefore comes at a crucial moment for Reform UK.
The party has experienced controversy and organisational setbacks, but it has also acquired unprecedented financial resources.
Farage’s decision to invest heavily in professional campaign staff suggests that he wants Reform to be prepared for a sustained national campaign rather than simply relying on its leader’s personal profile.
The 400-manager plan is particularly revealing.
It signals an attempt to establish a permanent political machine capable of operating across Britain for years.
That will bring opportunities, but it will also bring new organisational challenges.
Reform now has to prove that it can transform money into effective local structures while keeping control of a rapidly expanding movement.
For Farage, the next stage of the project is therefore less about making another headline and more about building an organisation capable of surviving beyond the headlines.
The announcement after Reform’s recent difficulties is significant precisely because it points towards that longer-term strategy.
The party is no longer operating with the limited resources of its earlier years.
It is attempting to build something much larger — and the success or failure of that transformation will depend not only on Farage, but also on the staff, candidates, councillors and activists who will have to turn the new investment into a functioning national organisation.