Reform UK office in Caerphilly targeted for second time

A Reform UK office in Caerphilly has been vandalised for the second time in five months as the Senedd election approaches.

A sticker was placed over the party’s slogan, changing it to read “Caerphilly needs Fascism”.

The incident follows a previous act of vandalism after the October 2025 Caerphilly by-election, when graffiti reading “now you can f*** off home” was written on the premises.

That contest saw Reform UK finish second despite polling suggesting its candidate, Llŷr Powell, could win. The party ultimately lost to Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle, who secured 47% of the vote, in a result that marked Labour’s first parliamentary defeat in Caerphilly for more than a century.

Reform’s campaign in the by-election focused heavily on immigration and criticism of the Welsh Government’s Nation of Sanctuary policy.

Following the earlier incident, the party’s regional director for Wales accused the Welsh media of “anti-Reform” bias, while senior figures including deputy leader Richard Tice and MP Lee Anderson claimed Reform activists had faced intimidation during the campaign.

They alleged posters featuring Powell had been defaced with Nazi symbols and that the candidate’s home door had been “kicked in” during the run-up to the vote. Security cameras were later installed at the party’s Caerphilly office, with local representatives saying they would not be intimidated.

The latest vandalism comes as polling suggests Reform UK could be a major force in Welsh politics ahead of the May 7 election.

A recent poll by Beaufort Research for Nation.Cymru puts Plaid Cymru narrowly ahead on 30%, with Reform UK close behind on 27%. Labour trails on 17%, with the Greens on 11%, the Conservatives on 9% and the Liberal Democrats on 6%.

Seat projection

A seat projection based on the poll suggests Plaid Cymru could emerge as the largest party with 37 seats, followed by Reform UK on 30 and Labour on 15.

The Conservatives and the Green Party are both projected to win 6 seats each, with the Liberal Democrats on 2.

The result would leave Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth on course to become First Minister, with current First Minister Eluned Morgan projected to lose her seat.