Reform MS attacks Senedd after reprimand over ‘offensive’ comments

Emily Price 

A Reform MS has attacked the Senedd after the Llywydd formally reprimanded him over ‘offensive’ remarks about Wales’ gender service and its medical staff.

Caerdydd Penarth MS Joe Martin claimed the ruling made clear that “free speech does not exist in Wales”.

He described the Welsh Parliament as a “sanctimonious and delusional bubble”.

Last week, Plaid Cymru’s Chief Whip Heledd Fychan called on the Presiding Officer Huw Irranca-Davies to review a contribution made by Martin during a debate on the pause in gender-affirming surgery within the Welsh Gender Service (WGS).

The Reform MS had called for the service to be shut down, branding the clinicians working there “butchers” and “liars” and saying they should be jailed.

Irranca-Davies said the comments breached standing order 13.9 (5) because they constituted “disorderly, discriminatory or offensive language”, which “detracts from the dignity of the Senedd”.

Speaking in the Chamber on Tuesday (September 29) the Presiding Officer said: “This ruling concerns the language used and the manner in which the contribution was expressed rather than the right to debate the subject matter.”

Reform UK said it accepted Irranca-Davies’ ruling but believed Martin’s remarks should be protected as “free speech”.

Later during Plenary, First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth described Martin as a “shadow minister without portfolio, without principles, or without any shame”.

Martin was not given an opportunity to respond to the Llywydd’s ruling, but took to social media to air his frustrations.

Although the WGS provides care and support for adults over the age of 18 experiencing gender dysphoria, Martin said his contribution had outlined “the crimes committed against children in the name of trans ideology”.

He said that while he has a “great deal of respect” for the Senedd’s Presiding Officer, his reprimand had been “the wrong decision to make”.

In a post to Facebook, he said: “This ruling makes clear that free speech does not it exist in Wales. Not really. I didn’t use a slur, I didn’t use foul language, I simply spoke what I believed to be true in terms that many of the public, perhaps even the majority in 2026, who I serve and represent, would understand and agree with.

“I don’t believe in mincing words. I believe in speaking plainly. People might not like it, but it should be respected as my right to express my beliefs.

“I don’t set out to offend or shock. It’s simply the case that the Senedd in Cardiff Bay is so out of touch with the views of the average person, is in such a sanctimonious and delusional bubble, that anyone who represents right wing beliefs is presented as a racist / transphobic / hateful lunatic.

“To everyone who voted Reform: I will keep trying my best. But in an institution where free speech is so limited, there is only so much I can do. So keep up the good fight, and keep telling the truth as best you can.”

The Llywydd was invited to comment but declined.

Plaid Cymru said Martin was using the right to free speech as a “get out clause from breaking parliamentary rules”.

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “Instead of reflecting on his actions, the Shadow Minister without portfolio, principles or shame once again doubles down on spouting hate and discriminatory language.

“Trans lives are never up for debate. Plaid Cymru will call out Reform’s dangerous rhetoric at every opportunity and stand up for the trans community to demand they can live free from discrimination.”

The WGS is run by Cardiff and Vale health board. In August, the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee paused all gender-affirming surgery referrals, assessments, and scheduled operations at the service while it conducted an independent clinical review amid concerns about whether patients were being “appropriately assessed” ahead of surgery.

Martin had shared a clip of his remarks about the service to his Facebook page last week with the caption: “I argued in the Welsh Parliament that doctors who’ve performed surgeries on so-called ‘trans’ children should be imprisoned for medical malpractice.

“There’s no such thing as a trans child, only foolish and malevolent parents.”

During an interview with BBC Radio Wales yesterday he doubled down on his remarks, saying he was more than happy to say that “trans ideology is entirely reprehensible”.

When asked by the BBC if he understood that some people would find his comments “extremely offensive”, the Reform MS replied simply: “Yes”.

Martin later shared the clip to Facebook claiming the BBC had tried to “guilt” him into “going along with trans nonsense”.

This is not the first time the Reform shadow minister has found himself in hot water over comments he has made in the Chamber.

In June, he sparked a walkout by rival politicians when he cracked jokes about Welsh children being unable to read and claimed that nurses were signing up for universal credit because their jobs were being given to workers from India.

The Reform MS had been rebuked by the Senedd’s Llywydd the same morning for making derogatory remarks about Sudanese asylum seekers the day before.

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