Farage’s support for Welsh devolution branded ‘cowardice’ by former Reform MP

Emily Price
Nigel Farage’s support for Welsh devolution has sparked an angry backlash from former Reform UK MP, Rupert Lowe.
Earlier this week, Reform’s leader visited Port Talbot where he pledged to reopen the blast furnaces at the Tata steel plant – a move that industry sources have branded “impossible”.
Reform has set its sights on the Senedd election next year when it hopes to gain enough support to oust Labour and become the party in power.
‘Sailed’
At the south Wales press conference on Monday (June 9), Farage used his keynote speech to announce that two more Welsh councillors had defected to his party.
It came amid recent internal clashes that saw chairman Zia Yusuf quit – only to return two days later.
During questions to the media after the press conference, Sharp End’s Rob Osborne quizzed Farage on whether he would allow Reform candidates looking to get a seat in the Senedd to hold “anti-devolution” views.
This will probably get lost today amongst the spending review news.
But here Farage tells ITV there’s no room in his party for Senedd candidates who have anti-devolution views.
This could be disappointing for some Reform voters. pic.twitter.com/12vqsxMFb4
— Emily Price (@EPriceJourno) June 11, 2025
The Clacton MP replied: “No no no no. I mean that ship has completely sailed.
“There is no room for this. We are seeing devolution across much of England now as well.
“It’s time that everybody here in Wales accept it.
“This as happened – this clock is not going to be turned back, it’s about how we do it better.”
‘Cowardice’
Pressing further, Osborne asked: “So they have to sign up to the plan? They have to sign up for devolution.”
Farage responded: “Of course, of course.”
It’s thought the Clacton MP’s comments could turn off some Reform voters who don’t support Wales having its own parliament.
Farage has expressed anti-devolution views in the past.
When he was the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), he described the then Welsh Assembly and its 60 members as “a totally unnecessary extra layer of politicians”.
He has since said Welsh devolution is here to stay.
Farage’s comments to ITV went viral on X, where former Reform MP Rupert Lowe commented: “More cowardice. We should abolish the Welsh Assembly.”
Wales’ Parliament stopped being called the Welsh Assembly in 2020 when it was officially renamed Senedd Cymru.
‘No clue’
A senior Reform UK source said: “Once again Rupert Lowe is proving he doesn’t have a clue about Wales.
“Devolution hasn’t worked so far but that’s because of Welsh Labour.
“A Reform government in Cardiff will finally deliver for working people in Wales. Wales needs Reform.”
Lowe was elected as a Reform MP at the general election last year but was suspended from the party in March amid claims he had made verbal threats against party chairman Zia Yusuf.
The Crown Prosecution Service said no criminal charges would be brought against the MP in relation to alleged threats towards Yusuf.
Lowe – who now sits as an independent MP – suggested Farage had a tendency to row with colleagues he felt threatened his position.
He has since accused his ex-colleagues of engaging in a “sinister” attempt to use the police to silence him, and branded Reform’s leader Nigel Farage a “coward and a viper”.
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All clear everyone? Abolish Wales is why Reform are standing for our national Parliament so that they can eat it out from the inside like the aggressive hate driven cancer they are. The words of Farage have been exposed by his bigot ‘buddy’ Lowe as the perfect opposite of truth but it’s not a surprise is it? I want to know what Y Llywydd, Labour, Plaid and the Lib Dem are doing about the introduction of a new oath to be sworn by elected members which will compel them to recognise our nation, its’ Parliament, its’ democracy and that they… Read more »
If we have learnt anything from Trump, it is that oaths are irrelevant to people who are seeking to destroy a country. Compleley meaningless.
….and Starmer, don’t forget Starmer.
Defraud UK doesn’t have the best interests of the Welsh working class at heart. It’s about self-enrichment at our expense. Remember when UKIP MEPs defrauded many millions of pounds in taxpayer money from the European Parliament? This is a new name for the same old scam.
The difference in view between these two strikes me as pretty obvious: right now, Farage just wants the chance to take advantage of as many elections as possible, given that he believes that his party’s presently on a roll. Whereas Lowe, having been booted out of Reform for insubordination against the Leader, is sticking to his faction’s original script – partly just to take an extra swipe against Farage, and partly because, given his present position as an independent, he sees no reason to depart from his former party’s original ‘abolish’ agenda. A position to which, by my guess, Farage… Read more »
Could Nigel afford to roll back devolution? The senedd would provide a good pool of resources for gaining MP’s. The money from tax payers, the Welsh senedd members and their staff would be professional canvassers for key english seats.
Plausible, and perhaps my use of the word ‘swiftly’ was too previous and insufficiently pondered! Indeed Farage might calculate that there would be likely partisan advantage in using the Senedd as a sort of ‘testing and training ground’ where potentially effective Reform Westminster MPs could be identified and have a sort of practice run at being legislators. Given the dubious quality of some – most? – of those already elected to office both nationally and locally, there’s surely a need for greater nurture. But ultimately – assuming that they ever get to form a Westminster government – I remain convinced… Read more »
Rolling back on Welsh devolution after it was secured in referendums in 1997 and 2011 would embolden pro EU movement.
Farage will say ‘anything’ that makes him think his party will get a vote from it. We’ll reindustrialise Wales! I now believe in devolution! We will reopen all the mines! It’s all BS!
Rupert Lowe’s constituency is Great Yarmouth, so what business is it of his as to what happens in Wales? This kind of sentiment is just as arrogant as Trump claiming that Canada is the 51st state, or Putin claiming that Ukraine belongs to Russia.
nige wasn’t elected to Kent council but he is calling the shots. Or the other councils, they do his bidding.
Remember that the UK has less safeguards in place than the US and Trump is gutting that nation.
He makes it his business because in the mind of Empireist, it’s all ‘OUR’ country – from Dover to Shetland and Great Yarmouth to Aberystwyth (or Chillingfold on Sea as they will rename it in their cultural genocide).
He does realise that removing a country’s democracy has always ended in war, or is that what he’s actually trying to do?
Actually, Reform already do have an established reputation for causing rioting and violence, so I’m thinking that’s exactly what the Russian employess are doing.
From Reform’s point of view abolishing the Senedd is now akin to cancelling a gravy train. As things stand they won’t be running the show but they will get a sizeable number of seats and the salaries and expenses will get creamed out of the place, just like they were in the European Parliament. They’ll be completely ineffective at turning up to scrutinise the Government and we’ll all be poorer for it. And just like in the European Parliament they can then use their ineffectiveness as a campaigning tool, see EU fishing as an example (Farage was on the Fisheries… Read more »
Like his buddy Trump, Farage will say anything he thinks will help him obtain power.
Like the old kids programme, Mr Ben, he has a dressing up box for every occasion.
Is he your mate down the pub?
Is he a “Farmer”?
Is he pro-Welsh?
No. He’s just a phoney – with bad intentions.