Conservative Party needs to change, says Welsh Tory MS

A Conservative Member of the Senedd has criticised UK party leader, Kemi Badenoch, and said the party “needs to change”.

James Evans refused to engage with questions of whether he was going to follow his “very strongly principled friend” Robert Jenrick and defect to Reform UK.

Jenrick told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that a meeting of the shadow cabinet where they failed to agree with him that Britain was broken had been the last straw for him.

Responding in the Telegraph, Badenoch insisted “Britain is not broken”. However, on BBC Politics Wales, Evans openly disagreed with her, and said “I will be honest with people, I think Britain is broken”.

The Conservative Party has declined to comment.

Evans said: “We have to take some level of responsibility for the mess this country is in.

He went on to say: “Kemi should reflect on that comment because I don’t think that’s the comment that is being made by the majority of people who support the Conservative Party across the country.”

Questioned on whether he would defect to Reform, the Brecon and Radnorshire MS said he didn’t want to get involved in a political “melodrama”.

“My views are clear. I have conservative principles. Yes, some of them do align with Reform, some of them don’t. This is the joys of political parties.”

Asked whether he had had conversations with Reform UK about joining the party, he said: “I’m not getting into what conversations I’ve had.”

Also on the panel was Reform UK’s Jason O’Connell, who complimented Evans on being a “very skilled politician” in the Senedd.

“We would certainly welcome his experience. His values align with ours and maybe there’s a conversation to be had in the future,” he said.