The daughter of a Monmouthshire farmer has become the first ever Reform UK Senedd Member, charting an unconventional rise and fall before finding herself back in the Senedd.

Laura Anne Jones MS attended the University of Plymouth, where she studied politics. Ms Jones joined the Conservatives in 1996 and was involved in the party’s wing for young people at the time, Conservative Future.

In 2003 Jones became the youngest member of the Welsh Assembly, as it was then known, and the joint first Welsh Conservative female AM, famously saying to the BBC that she was “completely shocked” to have been elected.

The year before that, Ms Jones had been banned from driving for a year and fined £75 for a drink driving offence.

She was appointed the Conservative Sports Spokesperson upon election and in February 2004 appeared on the BBC programme, Question Time.

Ms Jones later attempted to gain the nomination to replace David TC Davies as a candidate for the Monmouth constituency after the former was elected to the UK Parliament, but was unsuccessful.

She then lost her place in the Senedd in 2007, a seat she would have to wait 13 years to regain.

Between Senedd terms, Ms Jones remained active in local politics, having competed the Islwyn seat at the 2015 General Election for the Conservatives and Blaenau Gwent at the 2019 General Election.

Jones would later be elected to the Wyesham Ward on Monmouthshire County Council in 2017 with 42 per cent of the vote, defeating Labour’s Catherine Fookes, who would later become the MP.

Having unexpectedly become a Senedd member again in 2020 following the death of Mohammad Asghar MS, Ms Jones did not contest the 2022 local election with her previous ward electing an independent candidate.

She was appointed by then-Welsh Tory leader, Paul Davies, as the Shadow Minister for Equalities, Children and Young People before he was replaced by Andrew RT Davies, when her portfolio grew to include Housing and Local Government.

Upon being re-elected at the 2021 Senedd election, Jones was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Education, before being moved to the Shadow Culture role in April 2024, which she held for two months.

This was the same year that the MS was forced to apologise for an old Facebook comment which said, “I would like to do a spot of chav shooting.”

It was also reported that Jones was being investigated by South Wales Police and the Senedd Standards commissioner for falsifying expenses claims and was asked to stand down from the Shadow Cabinet. Although she was cleared by South Wales Police, the Senedd Standards Commission reopened its investigation into the matter in December 2024.

In August 2024, further messages were released which depicted Jones using a racial slur, which Conservative colleague, Natasha Asghar condemned vehemently.

Jones was later admitted back into the Shadow Cabinet under the Culture, Tourism and Sport Portfolio before new leader, Darren Millar, offered her the Local Government, Housing and Armed Forces role.

On Tuesday July 22, 2025, Ms Jones announced she was defecting to Reform UK alongside Party Leader, Nigel Farage. She revealed the Conservatives were unaware of her decision before making the announcement.

In March, both Jones and her former Tory colleague, Peter Fox, were granted incumbency for the new constituency for the 2026 election, meaning they would have to go head to head for the top spot on the party’s list of candidates for the Sir Fynwy Torfaen. Some critics have suggested that her move is a desperate bid to contest the seat next year although others believe it says more for the Tories than Jones or Reform.