Sarah Cooper-Lesadd

Sarah Cooper-Lesadd (born 30 January 1995) is a Welsh politician for Reform UK Wales, who has served as Member of the Senedd for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency and as Shadow Minister for Children, Young People and Skills since May 2026. She is also Chair of the Senedd Legislation Committee.

Background Sarah Cooper-Lesadd was born in Newport, South Wales, her mother died of postnatal psychosis three weeks after she was born and her father then gave her up for adoption and she was placed into the care system. She was adopted out of Wales at age 7. She credits reading Alastair Campbell's The Blair Years (2007) as what inspired her to get into politics.

Cooper-Lesadd attended Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. While there, she was communication and publicity officer for the Cambridge University Conservative Association. Prior to entering politics, Cooper-Lesadd worked as an account executive for financial services, healthcare, and property sectors at the public relations firm Morgan Rossiter (now Sapience Communications). She later served as private secretary to Lord Grimstone of Boscobel, the Minister for Investment at the Department for International Trade (now the Department for Business and Trade) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Political career From 2022 to 2024, Cooper-Lesadd worked as a senior parliamentary assistant for Vicky Ford, the Conservative MP for Chelmsford. At the 2024 general election, Cooper-Lesadd stood for the Conservative Party in Coventry East. She was not elected.

At the 2026 Senedd election, Cooper-Lesadd contested the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency for Reform UK. She was initially announced as the party's second-place candidate for the Afan Ogwr Rhondda constituency. When the party's lists were finalised, however, she was placed as the lead candidate for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency She resided outside of the constituency, in the Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr constituency.

On 17 June 2026, Cooper-Lesadd was elected Chair of the Senedd Legislation Committee.

On 8 July 2026, Cooper-Lesadd tabled a motion in the Senedd calling for strengthened legal protections for looked-after children and care leavers in Wales. She advocated extending statutory corporate parenting responsibilities—currently applying only to local authorities—to other public bodies such as health boards. This would provide care leavers with greater legal protections and support when leaving care, aligning more closely with arrangements in England. The non-binding motion was passed unanimously.