Jason O'Connell
Reform UK Member of the Senedd; lost the Senedd group leadership vote 17-15.
Jason O'Connell came within two votes of leading Reform UK in Wales on 21 September 2026, losing the Senedd group's ballot to Helen Jenner by 17 to 15 after Dan Thomas resigned.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026
Timeline for Jason O'Connell
Lost the Reform Senedd group leadership vote 17-15
UK Local Elections 2026: Mentioned in: Rhun ap Iorwerth sets six goals for WalesBackground
Jason O'Connell is a Reform UK Member of the Senedd for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr. He won the second of the constituency's six seats at the May 2026 election.
His political career began in local government in Torfaen. He represented Greenmeadow on Torfaen County Borough Council from 2017 to 2022 and Llantarnam from 2023 to 2026, first as an Independent. In August 2024 he joined Reform UK, becoming one of its first councillors in Wales. His selection for a Senedd seat outside his own council area prompted several Reform candidates there to resign.
In September 2026 he contested the leadership of Reform in Wales and lost narrowly.
O'Connell narrowly loses the leadership ballot
The contest followed Dan Thomas's resignation on 15 September 2026 and was settled by Reform's MSs, not the party membership. On 21 September they preferred Jenner by 17 votes to 15, and Nigel Farage presented her as leader at the Senedd that day.
O'Connell lost by the narrowest margin a 32-member vote allows. One MS changing sides would have tied the vote, and two would have given him the job. He stays on the benches of the official opposition, having shown he can command close to half of the group.