Reform MS dodges questions over links to ‘radical’ right-wing party

Emily Price 

A Reform Member of the Senedd has dodged questions about his links to a rival political party described as “radical-right”.

Earlier this week, Nation.Cymru reported that Afan Ogwr Rhondda MS Steve Bayliss is serving as an unpaid co-director of the anti-independence campaign group No! Cymru.

The organisation, which claims to not be affiliated with any political party, was formed in 2022 with the aim of campaigning for Wales to remain part of the United Kingdom.

When Nation.Cymru contacted No! Cymru to ask how the appointment of a sitting Reform MS as one of its directors is compatible with the organisation’s statement that it is not affiliated with any political party, the group’s founder and director Jason Lloyd Davies threatened us with legal action.

This prompted us to examine some of the other senior figures involved in No! Cymru.

We found that several of No! Cymru’s directors have links to the Heritage Party, raising questions about why a Reform MS is serving alongside activists associated with a different political party.

Another director listed on Companies House alongside Mr Bayliss is Mark Jared Edwards.

Someone with the name Mark Edwards stood for the Heritage Party in the recent Senedd election in the Bangor Conwy Môn constituency.

The candidate did not submit a middle name when registering to stand.

His nomination papers listed his address as being in Newport, despite contesting the seat in north Wales.

Angela Stokes is also listed as an active co-director of No! Cymru alongside Mr Bayliss.

‘Separatist activists’

Around a month after becoming a director, a person with the same name formally proposed a Heritage Party candidate at the 2024 general election.

On May 20th, Heritage Party Wales leader Kimberley Isherwood published a Facebook post wishing Angela Stokes a happy birthday.

She wrote: “Happy birthday to this absolute stunner. The lady behind our magnificent buffets. The hostess with the mostess…The incredible Angela Stokes. We think the world of you Ang. We would be lost without you.”

No! Cymru’s founder Jason Lloyd Davies spoke on behalf of the anti-independence organisation at the Heritage Party’s 2025 conference.

He gave a speech about how “separatist activists in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are being funded by globalists” who “must be resisted”.

When brought out on to the stage, the Heritage Party hailed No! Cymru’s founder as, “someone who has helped us tremendously over the summer”.

The Heritage Party was launched in 2020 by the former UKIP official and ex-London Assembly Member David Kurten.

‘Radical’

It has been labelled as a “radical” right-wing party having emerged from the anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown protest movement amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A case file published by the anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate reports how Kurten is a “long-standing proponent of the ‘cultural Marxism’ theory”, which claims there is a ongoing push for progressive social politics in an effort to subvert traditional Western and Christian values.

The Heritage Party stood election candidates in all of Wales’ 16 constituencies at the recent Senedd election.

The party’s manifesto called for a moratorium on expanding the 5G network “until proven safe” and pledged to abolish the Senedd, arguing it was “not necessary and not helping the Welsh people”.

Nation.Cymru contacted Mr Bayliss and asked a series of questions as well as pointing out it was notable that a Reform MS was serving as a co-director of an organisation that had links to the Heritage Party.

We asked if the views and policies of the Heritage Party aligned with his own and whether Reform UK was aware that he was leading an organisation alongside members of a rival party.

We also asked whether he would ever consider defecting to the Heritage Party, and whether he shared the party’s view that the Senedd should be scrapped – a position that differs from Reform UK’s policy.

Mr Bayliss did not respond.

Messages

Nation.Cymru contacted the Heritage Party and asked why some of its prominent figures were involved in an organisation directed by a Reform Member of the Senedd.

We also asked if the Heritage Party would welcome Mr Bayliss if he wished to defect.

The party did not respond.

Following the publication of our initial story, and our subsequent questions about No! Cymru’s links to the Heritage Party, several Nation.Cymru journalists were targeted with abusive messages online from anonymous accounts impersonating them by using their names.

This included our journalists’ email addresses being used to post offensive responses to other commentators on our website containing derogatory slurs about people with learning disabilities.