Reform and Tories deny links to far-right social media account amid renewed questions over who is behind it

Emily Price

Reform UK and the Welsh Conservatives have both distanced themselves from an anonymous social media account known as “Doge Wales” which has been accused of targeting and intimidating female political figures.

It comes amid renewed questions over whether the account is being indirectly funded by Welsh taxpayers, after details from an email sent to Senedd Members quickly appeared in a post published by it.

On Tuesday (April 28) MSs received an email from the Senedd Commission outlining details of a “working from home allowance” fund.

The email explained how Members of Wales’ parliament could pay their staff an allowance of £6 per week – or £26 a month for employees paid monthly – to cover the additional costs of working at home.

Very shortly after the email was received by MSs, the Doge Wales social media account published a post stating: “The Senedd pays staff a ‘working from home allowance’.

“We would suggest paying a ‘working from office allowance’ instead. Except there should be no need.

“Turning up for work should be the bare minimum. YOU pay for this.”

Some MSs told Nation.Cymru they did not believe the timing of the post was coincidental, suggesting it indicated the account may be influenced or operated by a Senedd Member or their taxpayer-funded staff.

We asked the Welsh Conservatives and Reform UK to confirm whether any of its MSs or staffers were responsible for the content being published online by the Doge Wales account.

Interaction

Former Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies has previously declined to answer questions about his online interactions with Doge Wales and whether he knows who is behind the account.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Tories firmly stated that the party “has absolutely nothing to do” with the anonymous social media account.

Nation.Cymru asked Reform UK if the party knew the identity of the activist or group of activists running Doge Wales.

We also asked the party to confirm that neither of its Senedd Members, Laura Anne Jones and James Evans, nor any of their staff, have any involvement in operating or contributing to the account.

The spokesperson did not answer the questions directly, but said: “We have no involvement in the running of that account.”

Targeted

The statement appeared to be at odds with comments made by one of Reform’s most prominent Senedd election candidates, Mark Reckless.

Earlier this year, the former Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party Senedd Member boasted of having “found out” who was running Doge Wales before “regularly retweeting” its content.

Several current and former female Members of the Senedd have been targeted by Doge Wales, also known as ‘Senedd Waste’.

Often amplified by Reform UK figures and some Welsh Conservative MSs, the account claims to scrutinise wasteful spending in the Senedd but largely focuses on more polarising issues such as immigration.

It publishes selectively edited video clips of female politicians that are often taken out of context with some of the footage years out of date.

Harassment

The account also frequently publishes unflattering and humiliating still images of the prominent Welsh women it disagrees with.

Some female political figures and journalists have said the account’s campaigns against them have led to abusive comments, harassment, and in some cases, death threats.

Doge Wales – also known as Senedd Waste – was recently exposed by the BBC for spreading misinformation to Welsh voters ahead of the May 7 Senedd election.

The report highlighted how the account had published “potentially misleading claims” about Plaid Cymru’s role in successive Welsh governments and the cost of the 20mph default speed limit.

In one post, Doge claimed Plaid and Welsh Labour had been in “coalition” for most of the latter’s 27-years in government.

Misinformation

However, a coalition usually means all parties involved have ministers in the cabinet.

Plaid and Labour have only been in coalition once in Cardiff Bay – for four years from 2007 – but entered into cooperation agreements from 2016 to 2017 and from 2021 to 2024.

During this time Plaid remained in opposition but worked together with Welsh Labour on certain policies.

Doge Wales has also claimed that the 20mph default speed limit came at a “£9bn cost to the Welsh economy”.

BBC Wales reported: “The change to 20mph cost £34m to implement. There has since been a reduction in casualties on Welsh roads, but the policy has not been universally popular.

“The £9bn figure appears to be an upper estimate of the policy’s cost to the economy over the course of 30 years, made in a 2022 Welsh government document.

“It concluded the increase in journey times could create an economic ‘disbenefit’ of £6.4bn between 2023 and 2052 – with £8.9bn being a worst-case scenario.

“But it estimated, when potential economic savings from improved road safety were also taken into account, the policy would cost £4.54bn over 30 years to the Welsh economy.”

The BBC article triggered Doge Wales to launch renewed attacks on BBC Wales’ interim director of nations, Rhuanedd Richards.