Reform would set Wales back decades, Plaid leader tells conference

A Reform government would set Wales back decades, the leader of Plaid Cymru has told his party conference.

Speaking at the International Convention Centre in Newport on Friday, Rhun ap Iorwerth said the Senedd election in May will be a choice between Plaid and Reform.

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 election could see more than two decades in power brought to an end.

Mr ap Iorwerth said: “For Labour, the party is over and so the election in May will be a choice between two contrasting futures.

“Tolerance or division, progress or decay, defiance or deference, culture or ignorance, humanity or indifference, Plaid Cymru or Reform.

“We all know that a Reform government would set our country back decades.

“We offer hope. “Hope that can overcome people’s fears of other political forces leading Wales down a dark path.

“And hope that, finally, Wales will have a government willing to stand up to Keir Starmer, to (Welsh Secretary) Jo Stevens, and anyone else denying our nation the fairness it deserves.”

The Senedd election in May could result in a once-in-a-generation shift in Welsh politics, with both Reform and Plaid Cymru hoping to win enough seats to form a new government.

Previously, Plaid Cymru worked alongside the Welsh Labour government in co-operation agreements across various policy areas, but it withdrew from its most recent partnership in 2024.

On Friday, Mr ap Iorwerth accused Reform of using Wales as “an electoral springboard”.

He added: “They say they accept devolution, for now. But they’d turn against it on a whim. We all know they have zero loyalty to Wales or to our nationhood.”

Mr ap Iorwerth also told the conference that if he becomes first minister of Wales in May, he would “stand up to Keir Starmer”.

His comments come after Sir Keir stressed the importance of standing “side by side” with Labour First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan in a visit to South Wales last week

In a speech the Prime Minister delivered alongside Lady Morgan at Taff’s Well Depot, he said: “I can’t overestimate how important it is to have two governments working together.”

Reset

On Friday, Mr ap Iorwerth said: “From day one, as your first minister, I would work to reset the relationship between Welsh and UK governments.

“A relationship characterised now as one of disrespect, disinterest and at times, it seems, wilful ignorance.

“My first conversation with the UK Prime Minister would set out a commitment to working constructively and cordially.

“But it would also set out my clear expectation that the will of the people of Wales must no longer be ignored.

“That’s fair funding, parity of powers with Scotland, a new Wales Bill to put those matters in statute as a matter of urgency – nothing less will do.”

Clear choice

Dan Thomas, leader of Reform Wales, said: “In May, Wales has a clear choice in the election.

“On the one hand is Plaid, who have propped Labour up for a generation, supporting policies like the Nation of Sanctuary and blanket 20mph speed limits.

“On the other is Reform, who are the only party that can deliver the real change Wales deserves.”

A Welsh Labour spokesman said: “Once again, we get nothing new from Plaid Cymru.

“They won’t answer the tough questions.

“It’s just the same old fantasy politics that will turn out to be just as ‘unrealistic’ as their abandoned net-zero pledge.”