REFORM UK leader Nigel Farage is set to hold a press conference in Wales this week, where he is expected to outline his party’s “plans for Wales” ahead of the May Senedd elections.
The party intends to field candidates in all 16 Welsh constituencies, but has yet to confirm a leader, reveal its prospective candidates, or announce any policies.
The event will take place at the ICC in Newport on Thursday, 5 February, with tickets priced at £5. Current polling suggests Reform UK, which presently holds a single Senedd seat, could see a significant increase, potentially securing more than 20 seats under the new system.
The most recent poll put Reform UK on 23% of the vote share, which could translate to 23 seats in the expanded Senedd, which is increasing from 60 to 96 members. This figure marks a decline from the previous ITV Cymru Wales/YouGov poll, which in September showed Reform UK nearly level with Plaid Cymru.
Event details state: “With less than 100 days until the Welsh elections, this is your chance to hear directly from Nigel Farage on Reform UK’s plans for Wales. These elections will be an open battle between Reform and Plaid. We will need every member and every supporter to take the fight all the way to the Senedd.”
The event is open to Reform UK members only.
This election will differ markedly from the six previous Welsh elections since devolution in 1999. There are new constituencies, a revised voting system, and, for the first time, voters will elect 96 Senedd members rather than 60, formerly known as Assembly members.
These changes make precise predictions challenging, but the political stakes are high. Repeated polls indicate that Labour, which has governed Wales continuously since 1999, faces a serious electoral challenge from both Reform UK and Plaid Cymru.
