[6] After the Conservative local councillor for Rhoose resigned over plans to shut Llancarfan's primary school, the February 2019 by-election returned former Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew R. T. Davies, who also opposed the closure.

[7] Davies and three other Conservative councillors then blocked the council's budget for the financial year.

[5] As a result, local Conservative Party members voted at their 29 April annual meeting to replace Thomas with Vincent Bailey as leader,[9] and Thomas then confirmed his resignation as council leader.

On 8 May, all six members of the council's cabinet, including Thomas, joined councillors Michael Morgan and Kathryn McCaffer in leaving the Conservative group on the council to sit as independents in a Vale Independents Group led by Ben Gray.

Wales Online described the move as similar to the formation of The Independent Group for Change in UK politics.

Two new independent councillors were elected for seats which were newly created by boundary changes: Samantha Campbell took an additional seat in Rhoose and Ian Perry won the new single-seat ward of St Nicholas & Llancarfan.

In separate tweets he had called Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, a "fascist" and a "Zionist".

Ian Perry previously unsuccessfully stood as a Plaid Cymru candidate in Wenvoe ward in 2017.