Welsh politician leaves Brexit Party over anti-devolution stance

Caroline Jones, a former UKIP leader for Wales, said the Brexit Party’s stance against devolution ran contrary to her own.

Jones, who lent her support to the party after becoming an independent Members of the Senedd (MS) in 2018, said the outfit had become irrelevant now the UK has left the EU.

She said: ‘As a Brexiteer, there was no reason not to lend my support to the Brexit Party Group but this was under the understanding that the Brexit Party shared my view that devolved government should be reformed so that it works better for the people I represent in South Wales West.

‘Now that Brexit has been achieved, and the Brexit Party have indicated that they are anti-devolution and want to see the Senedd abolished, I have taken the decision to leave the Brexit Party Group in the Senedd and sit as a non-aligned Independent Member for the rest of this Senedd term until the next Welsh Parliament Election.’

She added: ‘Their current stance is one of an Anti-Devolution Party which is against my principles.

‘My belief is that Westminster doesn’t provide all the answers and while devolution in Wales has a long way to go before it is truly representative of the people of Wales, it is something which the majority of people in our country voted for on numerous occasions.

‘I therefore honour that democratic decision and want to make devolution work for the people of Wales rather than undermine it.’

Jones stood for UKIP in the European Election in 2014 and the general election in 2015 before becoming the lead candidate for the party in the South Wales West Assembly region and leader briefly in 2018.

A Brexit Party spokesman said: ‘Caroline Jones has today informed Mark Reckless and the group that she will be leaving the Brexit Party group in the Senedd.

‘We would like to thank her for all the work that she has done while a part of the group and we wish her all the best in the future.’