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Over 3000 people sign petition demanding MSs give up their seats if they defect

28 Sep 2026 4 minute read

Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg MS Sarah Cooper-Lesadd – Image: Sarah Cooper-Lesadd X

Emily Price

A petition calling for Senedd Members who switch parties to give up their seats has attracted more than 3,000 signatures.

Christopher Blackwood launched the Senedd petition on September 15, the same day Reform UK’s Sarah Cooper-Lesadd announced she was leaving Nigel Farage’s party to join Plaid Cymru.

Cooper-Lesadd launched an attack on Reform UK when she jumped ship, accusing the party of using its Senedd group merely as a “staging post” to help get Farage into Downing Street.

Her defection prompted criticism from Reform supporters and party officials who argued that she should not be able to retain a seat won under the party’s banner.

The arguement centres on the fact that voters did not choose Cooper-Lesadd as an individual candidate at May’s Senedd election.

Under the new closed-list system, they cast their vote for Reform UK, with Cooper-Lesadd subsequently taking one of the party’s seats having being selected to stand in first place on the party’s list.

However, despite leaving Reform UK for Plaid Cymru, Cooper-Lesadd is legally entitled to keep her Senedd seat because there is no requirement under the current rules for MSs who defect to another party to resign and face a by-election.

This has fuelled calls for the rules to be changed, with the petition arguing that MSs who choose to leave the party under which they were elected should give up their seat.

Mr Blackwood’s petition states: “This proposal is not about stopping Members from changing their political beliefs.

“It is about protecting the vote cast by the public.

“Under a closed-list system, voters choose a political party and its list of candidates.

“If a Member elected from that list later leaves the party, the voter has no opportunity to approve that change.

“A fairer system would allow the Member to leave the party if they wish, but require them to give up the list seat.

“The seat could then pass to the next eligible candidate from the original party list.

“This would keep the result closer to what voters actually chose at the election and help maintain trust in the Senedd electoral system.”

Senior Reform UK Senedd staffer Derek Roberts has been promoting the petition on social media in an effort to attract more signatures.

Roberts was selected by Reform UK to stand in second place in Cooper-Lesadd’s constituency at the Welsh election, but was forced to step down after strong concerns were raised by his fellow candidates about the “racist” and offensive content he shared online.

Posting the petition in several community Facebook groups at the weekend, Roberts wrote: “Help Reform UK Wales and sign this petition.

“We had a defection and we must show our anger on the system.”

Senedd petitions collect data showing the constituencies in which signatories live.

The data gathered so far shows that Cooper-Lesadd’s own constituency of Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg has by far the highest number of signatories at around 370.

The next highest figure is Casnewydd Islwyn with around 230 signatures clocked up there, followed by Sir Gaerfyrddin with 220.

Altogether the petition has so far gathered over 3000 signatures and will continue to gather signatures until October 15.

Petitions with more than 10,000 signatures will be considered for a debate in the Senedd.

The petition has already met the 250 signature threshold to be discussed by the Petitions Committee, which is chaired by Reform UK’s Jason O’Connell.

In recent days O’Connell has branded Cooper-Lesadd a “fraud” for crossing the floor, and has called for her resignation.

Last week, he received a sharp reprimand from the Senedd’s deputy presiding officer after he deviated from questioning a minister in order to lash out his former Reform UK colleague.

Reform UK’s politicians, including O’Connell himself, are no strangers to defections.

Several of the party’s high-profile MSs previously served as Conservative politicians before standing under Reform UK’s banner at the May 7 Senedd election.

Cooper-Lesadd herself argues that Reform UK still has representation in the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency, with Gareth Thomas still holding one of the region’s six seats.

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