Mandy Jane Jones is a British former politician and farmer who was a

Member of the Senedd A member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; ; , plural: ) is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd constituency, Senedd constituencies, a ...

(MS) for

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

from 2017 to

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. Jones was elected for the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...

(UKIP) but sat as an

independent politician An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicia ...

within the Senedd from early January 2018 until May 2019, when she joined the

Brexit Party Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

(Reform UK). In October 2020 she joined the

Independent Alliance for Reform The Independent Alliance for Reform () was a political group in the Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected ...

group.

Background

Jones was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

, West Midlands and worked as a farm contractor and

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

in north east

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. She studied

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

& Small Animal Care at Llysfasi College (now Coleg Cambria). She brought up her family in the

Corwen Corwen is a town and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. Historically, Corwen was part of the county of Merionethshire. Corwen stands on the banks of the River Dee beneath the Berwyn mountains. The town is situated west of Llang ...

area.

Political career

Jones stood for UKIP in the Clwyd South constituency at the 2015 General Election. She also stood for UKIP in Clwyd South at the 2016 Welsh Assembly election, coming fourth behind Labour, the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

and

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

. As the third UKIP candidate on the

regional

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

, she failed to secure a

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

seat.

Member of the Senedd

Following the resignation in December 2017 of former UKIP Assembly Member (AM), Nathan Gill, Jones (as the next available UKIP candidate on the regional list) was confirmed on 27 December as the replacement AM. She was due to actively take up her duties following an

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

swearing ceremony, which took place on 29 December at the Welsh Assembly's

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

buildings. On 9 January 2018, UKIP Wales announced that she would not be joining the UKIP group in the Assembly, due to employing members of other parties in her office. Jones refused to change her staff and described the UKIP group as "toxic". She describes herself as a Faragist and claims former UKIP leader

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

supports her actions. Her party membership was suspended on 18 June 2018 following criticism of Neil Hamilton's nomination as an assembly commissioner. In March 2019, Jones spoke in the Assembly Chamber about the physical and

emotional abuse Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is no scientific consensus on a definit ...

she suffered from her adopted mother, in opposition to the Welsh Government's proposals to ban the smacking of children. In May 2019, Jones along with three other Assembly Members joined the

and formed an assembly group in the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

, led by

Mark Reckless Mark John Reckless (born 6 December 1970) is a British lawyer and former politician who served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales East from 2016 until 2021, having previously served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochester and ...

. In mid October 2020 she formed a new group in the Senedd, the

, together with fellow MSs David Rowlands and Caroline Jones. In March 2021, Jones was selected by

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

as their candidate for Clwyd South, ahead of the May Senedd election. She was not among the Reform candidates seeking election on the North Wales list. In total, Jones received just 277 votes (1.1%), coming last out of all candidates.

Electoral history

2015 general election

2016 Assembly election

Constituency

Regional list

Jones was placed third on the North Wales regional list for the

, behind Nathan Gill and

Michelle Brown Michelle Margaret Freda Brown (born 30 December 1969) is a British lawyer and former politician who was a Member of the Senedd (MS) for North Wales (Senedd electoral region), North Wales from 2016 National Assembly for Wales election, 2016 to 2 ...

References

External links

Official webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Mandy Living people Year of birth missing (living people) UK Independence Party members of the Senedd Reform UK members of the Senedd Female members of the Senedd Wales MSs 2016–2021 Politicians from Denbighshire Politicians from Wolverhampton UK Independence Party parliamentary candidates Welsh women farmers 21st-century British farmers 21st-century British women farmers 21st-century Welsh women politicians Welsh farmers Welsh politicians Alumni of Coleg Cambria