Reform Senedd Member thanks hate group for election support

Emily Price

A newly elected Reform UK Senedd Member has thanked a notorious far-right racist hate group for its support during her election campaign.

Mumbles councillor Francesca O’Brien secured one of two seats for Reform in Gŵyr Abertawe at the May 7 election.

She was congratulated by Voice of Wales, an anti-migrant and anti-Muslim group, which shared a celebratory Facebook post featuring her photo.

Responding to the post, O’Brien wrote “Big thanks to everyone for their support.

“The hard work starts now and I can’t wait to get my teeth into it.”

The Gŵyr Abertawe victor has been linked to Voice of Wales several times before.

The group is led by convicted fraudster Dan Morgan and failed UKIP candidate Stan Robinson – two associates of the far-right anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson.

In October, O’Brien teamed up with the pair to host a public meeting that centred on unsubstantiated claims that pupils at a Swansea school were forced by a representative of a Mosque to pray on Muslim mats and recite passages from the Quran.

Since defecting from the Welsh Conservatives last year, O’Brien has been supported and promoted by Voice of Wales in her bid to become a Member of the Senedd.

Breakthrough

When election results revealed Reform had become the second-largest party in the Senedd, the far-right platform claimed credit for the breakthrough success.

O’ Brien’s message of thanks to the group came as Voice of Wales urged Reform’s successful Senedd candidates to embrace labels such as “racist”, “bigot” and “far-right”.

In a video posted to Facebook, the so-called media platform urged Reform Wales to ignore leader Nigel Farage’s warnings to distance itself from them and instead “utilise” the group in exchange for “favourable” media coverage.

In the video message Voice of Wales co-founder Dan Morgan threatened to turn his group’s allegiance to Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain if Reform’s representatives did not work with him.

He said: “In four years time, there’s going to be another group that is challenging for the Senedd – and they will use us and they will utilise us and that is Restore Britain.

“Now Reform has a choice – you can either carry on disassociating yourself.

“I know that you had orders and that you’re not allowed to speak to Voice of Wales.

“But you either accept that and accept what’s coming in four years time or you embrace us because we are the only ones in Wales that will sit down and interview you.

“We are the only ones in Wales that will let you speak and not twist anything you’re going to say. So it’s up to you.

“In four years time there’s going to be a party wanting to stand in Wales, and it’s called Restore Britain, led by Rupert Lowe who is a very strong MP, someone that everybody in Wales already knows and is very much warming to.

“So Reform, it’s yours to lose, you can either utilise Voice of Wales or you can keep on distancing yourself from us because Nigel says so – but Nigel Farage is not sitting in the Senedd.

“Nigel Farage does not realise how far down the shitter Wales is. Wales is much further down the shitter than anyone else.

“So you guys all in office right now need to make a decision, are you going to kowtow and appease the communists, the ones that will never support you and continue to distance yourself from us.

“Or are you going to utilise us because you know we are good and that we have got your back and we are on your side.

“Or is it going to come four years down the line when Restore Britain come in and they will use us. The choice is yours guys.”

‘Foul’

Voice of Wales’ YouTube channel was removed in 2021 after being accused of using “foul” and “unacceptable” language.

Hosts Morgan and Robinson had used the channel to platform controversial figures and broadcast live from protests against housing asylum seekers.

In 2023, Morgan was convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud for his role in a massive, nationwide PPI call centre scam that largely targeted elderly and vulnerable people.

Judge Huw Rees described the Swansea based operation as a “deliberate, planned fraud” driven by greed that lacked any compassion for the victims.

We asked Reform UK a series of questions:

*Is Francesca O’Brien or any other Reform UK Senedd Member looking to work with Voice of Wales now that they have been elected?

*Has Nigel Farage changed his stance on Voice of Wales and is he now supportive of his party’s Senedd Members using the far-right group for “favourable” coverage?

*Is Farage or Welsh leader Dan Thomas comfortable with Francesca O’Brien having a relationship with a group led by a man convicted of scamming elderly and vulnerable people out of money?

Reform UK did not respond.