Jason O'Connell is a Welsh politician who has served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr since 2026.
Jason O'Connell | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2026 | |
| Member of the Senedd for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr | |
| Assumed office 8 May 2026 | |
| Torfaen County Borough Councillor for Llantarnam | |
| In office 2 February 2023 – 9 May 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Nick Jones |
| Succeeded by | TBD |
| Torfaen County Borough Councillor for Greenmeadow | |
| In office 4 May 2017 – 5 May 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Wellington |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Reform UK (since 2024) |
Other political affiliations | Independent (2017–2018; 2019–2024) Conservative (2018–2019) |
Originally elected as an independent, and briefly serving as a Conservative, before defecting to Reform UK Wales in 2024, he served as the Torfaen County Borough Councillor for Greenmeadow from 2017 to 2022, and for Llantarnam from 2023 to 2026.[1]
Political career
editIn 2017, O'Connell was elected as an Independent politician to represent the Greenmeadow ward on Torfaen Council. In September 2018, he joined the Welsh Conservative group on the council, after the election of Paul Davies as Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, describing his appointment as 'exciting'.[2] He left the Welsh Conservatives at some point between 17 November and 9 December 2019.[3][4] He ran again as an independent again at the 2022 local elections. He was not elected.[5]
O'Connell ran to represent the Llantarnam ward during a 2023 by-election, and was elected, again as an independent.[6] In August 2024, alongside the other two councillors for his ward, O'Connell joined Reform UK Wales, becoming one of the party's first councillors in Wales.[7]
In March 2026, O'Connell was announced as Reform's lead candidate for the Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr constituency, despite representing a council ward in the Sir Fynwy Torfaen constituency. This triggered resignations from several other candidates running in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, who alleged that O'Connell, and other candidates, was a parachute candidate, and criticised the lack of local control in candidate selection within Reform.[8] He was successfully elected to Senedd in May 2026.[9]
References
edit- ↑ Mosalski, Ruth (8 May 2026). "Wales' Senedd Election results in full as new political map of Wales unveiled". Wales Online.
- ↑ Craig, Ian (2018-09-07). "Independent Torfaen councillor defects to the Conservatives". Free Press Series. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ "Members Index - Torfaen Council". Torfaen County Borough Council. Archived from the original on 2019-11-17. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ↑ "Members Index - Torfaen Council". Torfaen County Borough Council. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ↑ "Greenmeadow Ward — Torfaen - 2022 Local Elections". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
- ↑ "Llantarnam Ward — Torfaen - 2023 By-election". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ Gogarty, Conor (19 August 2024). "Reform now has its first three councillors in Wales". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ Lewis, Gareth (2026-03-25). "Reform candidate quits party amid 'parachuting' row". BBC News. Retrieved 2026-04-09.
- ↑ Jones, Amelia (2026-05-14). "By-election looms after Reform politician steps down as councillor". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 2026-05-29.