Reform UK files complaint over Caerphilly by-election debate
Martin Shipton
Reform UK has complained to the BBC over a televised by-election debate in Caerphilly, after it emerged that an audience member who criticised the party’s candidate is now standing for Plaid Cymru as a community councillor.
The dispute centres on a BBC Wales programme, Your Voice, Your Vote, broadcast in the run-up to the October 2025 Senedd by-election prompted by the sudden death of Labour MS Hefin David.
Six candidates took part, including Reform UK’s Llyr Powell, Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle, and representatives from other major parties.
During the debate, Caerphilly resident Alison Vyas challenged Powell over Reform’s messaging on immigration, telling him she “had never felt so unwelcome” in her hometown until his party’s campaigning began.
The exchange involved both Vyas and her son Cole, who pointed to census data showing that only 2.9% of Caerphilly residents were born outside the UK.
Video clips of the interaction circulated widely on social media and were shared throughout the remainder of the campaign.
Plaid Cymru’s Whittle secured a decisive victory over Powell, winning 47% of votes cast.
Reform UK now claims the recent announcement of Vyas’s candidacy raises questions over whether the debate audience was impartial.
The party has formally complained to the BBC and repeated allegations of bias against it.
In a post on X, Reform Leader Nigel Farage said: “Trust in the BBC has been shaken by scandals in recent years. Now, this revelation will be the final straw for many people in Wales.”
Reform Wales’ regional director David Thomas also suggested the debate was “set-up”, claiming audiences are “curated” and “too often stacked” against the party.
Plaid Cymru confirmed earlier this week that Vyas will stand as a Plaid community councillor in Caerphilly’s Van Ward, but party figures insist she was not a member or activist at the time of the BBC debate.
Abuse
A Plaid Cymru source told Nation.Cymru that Vyas attended the debate as a resident and parent, and later joined the party after receiving racist and misogynistic abuse online following the broadcast. The source said her decision to stand for council stemmed partly from this experience.
“Alison was expressing her own experience as a mother living in Caerphilly with a mixed-race son,” the source said. “She had no formal links to Plaid Cymru before the debate.”
Community councillor roles are voluntary and unpaid. Van Ward is the area where Vyas was raised.
Following the TV exchange, Vyas says she was subjected to online harassment from commenters identifying themselves as Reform supporters or far-right activists.
Powell’s failed campaign for the Senedd seat had already hit the headlines after his former employer, ex-Reform Wales leader Nathan Gill, admitted taking money linked to Russian interests.
The announcement of Vyas’s candidacy prompted Powell to repost an image from the debate alongside the caption: “Scrap the BBC licence fee.”
Reform UK’s latest attack comes shortly after Thomas himself was removed automatically from a community council position in Cwmbran for failing to attend meetings for six months – a statutory requirement for councillors.
The BBC, which has received Reform’s complaint, issued a statement defending its practices.
Impartial
A spokesperson said: “As with all BBC election debates, the audience was selected through an established and impartial vetting process designed to ensure a fair representation of political views. All participants were selected in line with our standard editorial guidelines.”
The Caerphilly dispute follows a period of heightened tension between Reform UK and the Welsh media
The party chose not to take part in the first 2026 Senedd campaign radio debate hosted by BBC Radio Wales on Sunday, prompting criticism from other parties who said Reform was avoiding scrutiny.
The National Union of Journalists in Wales has previously condemned what it describes as Reform UK’s “ongoing attacks” on Welsh media organisations.
In November, Nation.Cymru revealed screen grabs from an internal Reform UK group chat which showed offensive language used to describe journalists that had been critical of the party.
We also reported how a barrister working for Reform UK had attempted to bully Nation.Cymru and other media outlets with spurious legal threats.
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It’s only natural that those attending will have an interest in politics. Reform are just bad losers.
So would they agree that an audience member from a debate would also not be allowed to stand for Ref*rm either? I doubt it.
Once garage apologises and condemns his past despicable antisemitic comments and racist bullying behaviour, maybe his complaint can be taken seriously. Until he is only condoning such behaviour and actions.
Great report from Nation Cymru! This what political journalism should be doing for Cymru. Exposing the grifters takes courage & this is a great example. How likely is it that someone is going to take the time to attend a political debate if they aren’t interested in politics?
Why is he ever welcomed in any part of Wales when he is so anti Welsh language, anti Welsh identity, anti Wales and anti Senedd? It never makes any sense to me. The only thing he spouts is hate rhetoric and the boats. Boats, boats, boats, grooming gangs in Rochdale and um, that’s it.
Dont recall Reform ever complaining about the question time audience always being packed with their members
Could complain that at that time we didn’t know the full potential for Gills treachery (Nigels Farage’s best friend and confidant in Wales and a bloke farage trusted) and the next Q+A reform run away so we cannot question them more. But really, they (BBC) went to a lad and then his Mum, I don’t think Servini had a clue and was hoping it would be a contentious pair for clicks but twp Llyr was shown as a rabbit in the headlights unable to talk and think at the same time. That is why reform are upset. They were shown… Read more »
Anyone who becomes aware of Reform policies, or their lack of them, would feel the need to keep them out of this country in any way of form. This individual has now decided it’s with another party so no case to answer.
Reform think this is an issue, while they have a racist leader in England, their last leader in Cymru now in jail, with an increasing list of racist criminals signing up for them.
Is that why they’ve ducked out of the more recent election debates? Or is it because they’re scared of humiliation?
Complaining and playing the victim is the only thing Reform excells at.
Oops I forgot lying.
They moan when they’re on, they moan when they’re off, they’re invited on and say yes then no then imply they were not invited. There is literally NOWHERE they can be without something being wrong with it so the answer is disband and disappear. The trouble is for the redundant individuals is that they’ll be at home, not happy with that, down the shop, not happy with that, down the pub, not happy with that so the problem is inside the head. Counselling required.
Reform Ltd., and their owner Farage, would prefer all media to be like GB News, fawning over them with no pretence of neutrality and independence.
Correct and Nadine ‘madwoman’ Dorries tried to turn Channel 4 into that. Then, she was a Tory and is now Reform UK. She, among others, validates my description of these two parties as two cheeks of the same butt.
The audience was not impartial, the audience was representative. It’s the audience selection process which is impartial. Why can’t Reform understand the simplest of premises without twisting things? Are they all thick?
Unfortunately an important minority of them are expert manipulators of attention and reaction.
That’s so well put.
But the rest of them are thick.
😉
In my view there are only two types of Reform UK supporter, and they can be categorized as either ghouls or fools.
Yes
This is pure sour grapes from Reform UK because they lost fair and square. Are they seriously suggesting that people who contribute to political debate in TV or radio shows should never be allowed to join any political party in the future!? This is just the usual bonkers reasoning we’ve come to expect from Reform UK.
And here we have the standard gaslighting victim mindset mode of operation for Reform.
They’re that good at playing thr victim they dhould carry their own chalk outline.
Good to see that they’re consistently proving their complete incompetence to everyone though.
“Trust in the BBC has been shaken by scandals in recent years.”
That trust has been shaken by giving an open invitation to a charlatan like Farage to current affairs programmes for years.
Don’t be like Farage.
Don’t be a hypocrite.
It’s still Panto season !!!
Attack Welsh Mothers at your peril .
Powell’s face was a picture as she sent him packing .
That was the night the wheels came off the turqoise bus
Some simple words from a mother and son who live in a harmonius community
Their reaction to Reform bussing in supporters from elsehere
To spread fear and discontent with misinformation and smears
Now the gumboil Powell crying in his milk .
What a dreadful lot
Anyone but Reform,
Bothered?? Reform already get disproportionate coverage from the BBC so tough
In other words democracy didn’t work the way we wanted, so blame the media. Straight out of Trump’s playbook
They should be proud that they inspired someone to take the brave step of entering politics.
MOAN MOAN MOAN That is all the Reform English Nationalist party does and any Welsh person who votes for them is a TRAITOR AND QUISLING to the Welsh Nation they are far more dangerous than Liebour or Tory put together
But question time far right control is fine
Farage is now spout ani vaccination cobblers. The ones standing in a Welsh debate would have to defend that. And anyone spouting anti vaccination is a proven idiot.