Reform pledges to ‘put Wales first’ and abolish international aid
Reform UK says it would “put Wales and Welsh communities first” with changes to social housing and the scrapping of foreign aid spending if it wins May’s Senedd election.
The party, led by Nigel Farage, is expected to be one of the main contenders alongside Plaid Cymru in the Welsh parliamentary elections on May 7.
The party will launch its election manifesto on Thursday, unveiling a suite of policies, including scrapping the default 20mph speed limit and ending Wales’ status as a Nation of Sanctuary.
Reform Wales leader Dan Thomas called the manifesto – which includes a promise to build an M4 relief road – a “blueprint for real change.”
“These promises put Wales and Welsh communities first, and unlike the pledges put forward by other parties, these are deliverable,” he said.
“Armed with this blueprint, we have all the building blocks to end a generation of decline here in Wales.”
Mr Thomas added the party would “put Wales first” by “spending taxpayers’ cash in Wales” after abolishing foreign aid and “prioritising Welsh people for social housing” alongside an end to the use of migrant hotels.
He will unveil the manifesto alongside Mr Farage at an event in Newport.
Labour has led Wales since the Senedd was first established as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, but, if opinion polls are to be believed, the May elections could see more than two decades in power brought to a dramatic end.
Plaid Cymru and Reform have topped recent opinion polls in Wales, with both parties hoping to win enough seats to form a new government.
The Welsh Conservative Party manifesto, launched on Tuesday, also included a pledge to reverse the default 20mph speed limit.
Reform Wales will outline plans aimed at tackling the cost of living, including a business rates review, 5% council tax referendum limit and a “tax lock” pledge against new levies in Wales.
The party is also expected to reiterate commitments to keep the NHS free, alongside promises to cut waiting times and upgrade hospitals.
Mr Farage said: “I’m immensely impressed by the hard work that has gone into developing this ambitious but realistic blueprint for government.
“In a Senedd Election campaign that has been characterised by fantasy economics from the other parties, this document is a serious plan to deliver the real change Wales deserves.”
Last week, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth outlined his ambitions for the first 100 days of a Plaid Cymru administration in Wales, which he said aimed to demonstrate the “seriousness” with which the party was approaching the prospect of governing.
Its targets included improvements to healthcare, education and a “resetting” of the relationship between Cardiff Bay and Westminster.
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Before he starts making promises for the magic relief road, perhaps he should study the extensive land survey findings collected to realise why its impossible to build it along the proposed route.
Also perhaps he should find out what happens to the entire ecosystem 30 miles in from the coast if those habitats get destroyed.
Reform despise Cymru, reform despise the inhabitants of cymru and Reform supporters want to see our country and communities destroyed.
All policies his backers can cream money off us for. None of this will happen as they say, they have form.
Meanwhile Trumps little toady in the UK going to deal with his masters massive price hit for people in Wales this year? Farage wanted the UK in at the sharp end in this idiotic war and now we are about to pay the price for Trumps deranged brain that farage adores so much.
“ending Wales’ status as a Nation of Sanctuary”
Have Putin’s alleged puppets actually denied this means returning Ukrainians?
And does international aid include Wales’ £2bn contribution to refurbish the Palace of Westminster? If they oppose that waste it could be a vote winner.
They clearly don’t realise that many of these things they’re promising aren’t even within the powers of the Welsh Government, such as closing the asylum hotels – the control of which is entirely in the hands of the Westminster government. You’d have to be mad to support a party that is so clueless about what they could actually do if they won power.
There we have it. Reform want to waste £3bn+ on building the new M4 around Newport, due to induced demand it will not solve congestion so they are just draining Welsh Government budget money away from critical services with no long term benefits.
“One more lane” never fixes it.
Betting they have a contractor lined up.
My late mother would describe political pledges as being made of pie-crust, i.e. meant to be broken, especially as Farage et al. seem incapable of distinguishing between devolved and non-devolved matters, which they hope the hard of thinking will not notice when making their mark.
Well, I don’t think Wales has an international aid/development budget. There is a tiny budget for some international programmes (around 1 million pounds) and this will certainly not help building even a county road, nevermind the M4 relief road. They just want to play on the card of xenophobia, nothing else. Will they get fair budget from the Westminster for Wales?
He also said the Senedd election is a referendum on Starmer’s leadership.
No it ******* isn ‘t.
But I wonder how many people won’t understand that, especially with all the promises to do from Cardiff Bay things that are wholly in Westminster’s power.
They aren’t fit to stand, let alone win, with this minimal level of understanding – and I do think that some of it is lazy incomprehension, along of course with the usual deliberate misrepresentation
Will the real leader of Reform in Wales please stand up? It’s certainly not Dan Thomas. What I heard today from Nigel Farage — England’s answer to Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island — and his mini‑me manservant, Dan Thomas, in Newport were the same rehashed and reheated “dissolve, not devolve” policies that UKIP and the Brexit Party have been regurgitating for years. More of the same BritNat BS, I’m afraid. Only Plaid Cymru offers Wales real change. With Rhun ap Iorwerth as First Minister, and supporters like actor and activist Michael Sheen, Wales will finally be seen and heard. #Ymlaen… Read more »
Just supporting reform shows that much disdain for Welsh people that it should be a hate crime.
I will be voting Plaid. However, I would not simply dismiss Reform UK as “Too Weird to Win” (Ben Wildsmith earlier this week) and laugh at their policies. Yes the manifesto would lead to cuts to public services. However, there are many out there that who think public services are inefficient and who would happily vote for a party promising tax cuts, to build an M4 relief road and get rid of 20mph (although looking at the manifesto that is ambiguous). I think it would be wise for Plaid to look at the blue route for the M4 relief road… Read more »
Didn’t Farage say in his speech that the IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) would be “looking at their homework and marking it out of 10”. Well based on their initial posting, I don’t think it’s looking good (although you can probably work that out from tax cuts + extra spending).
https://ifs.org.uk/articles/initial-response-reform-uks-welsh-manifesto
Lets not even get started on the fact that the manifesto covers a range of non-devolved topics anyway, seemingly just designed to appeal to the voter-base that won’t fact check.
The money ‘saved’ will be invested in compiling a list of people who resist their irredentist obsession with erasing Welsh culture from the map