Reform’s final Senedd election candidate lists reveals chaos of selection process

Emily Price 

Reform’s final Senedd election candidate lists have revealed the chaos behind its selection process.

The deadline for candidates and political parties to submit their nomination papers and candidate lists was 4:00pm on Thursday (9 April).

Returning officers have since been in the process of publishing the final lists of Senedd election hopefuls ahead of the May 7 vote.

Some of the constituency lists originally unveiled by Reform UK in March have changed following several controversies and infighting over the vetting process the party used to choose and rank its candidates.

The party’s candidates standing in the Casnewydd Islwyn, Gwynedd Maldwyn, Caerdydd Penarth, Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf, Sir Gaerfyrddin, Blaenau Gwent Caerphilly Rhymni, Sir Fynwy Torfaen, Ceredigion Penfro, Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, Bangor Conwy Môn and Clwyd constituencies remain the same as the original lists put forward last month.

But the party’s list of hopefuls standing in Afan Ogwr Rhondda, Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg, Fflint Wrecsam and Bangor Conwy Môn have been altered – with some candidates axed, some changing their ranked positions and some being moved to stand in entirely different constituencies.

Former Tory Coventry MP candidate Sarah Cooper Lesadd was originally unveiled as Reform’s number two candidate in Afan Ogwr Rhondda

She has now been moved stand as the party’s leading candidate in Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg – replacing disgraced election hopeful Corey Edwards who quit the party after Nation.Cymru revealed an image of him performing a Nazi salute.

Chair of Reform’s Aberafan Maesteg, Rhondda and Ogmore branch Steve Bayliss was originally set to stand in third place on the party’s list in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr but is now Reform’s number two candidate in Afan Ogwr Rhondda.

Row

Gareth Thomas was set to stand in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr but has now moved to second place on Reform’s list in Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg.

David Hughs and Jamie Loftus have been added to the Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr list despite not appearing on it in March.

Mark Lawrence has moved positions from fifth place to third and John Ball has moved from sixth place to fifth.

Bridgend councillor Owain Clatworthy was set to stand as Reform’s number six candidate in Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg but quit the party amid a row over an “expensive and unfair” selection process.

He told Nation.Cymru that prior to quitting the party he had been called by Reform’s regional director David Thomas who offered him a choice between a number of constituencies that were all outside of the area he lived.

Reform’s final list for the Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency shows that former fourth place candidate Toby Rhodes-Matthews has been removed altogether.

Owain Clatworthy told Nation.Cymru this was because Rhodes-Matthews was targeted by party officials after he raised the alarm about the social media conduct of fellow election hopeful Derek Roberts.

Roberts announced he would step down from standing in the election a week after Reform’s first list for the Pen y Bont Bro Morgannwg constituency was published due to “personal reasons”.

Nation.Cymru asked Rhodes-Matthews if Clatworthy’s claims that he had been penalised for the blowing the whistle on his colleague were true. But he did not respond.

‘Betrayed’

Also in Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg Emma Clatworthy – who is no relation to Owain Clatworthy –  has been moved from fifth to fourth place on Reform’s final list while newcomer Valerie Lynn Ellis has been added too.

In Gŵyr Abertawe, Partick Benham-Crosswell has been removed from Reform’s list of candidates after he quit the party two weeks ago accusing officials of “betraying” their own members.

Nicola Clarke has been added to Reform’s list in Gŵyr Abertawe in sixth place while Scott Thorely has moved positions from sixth to fifth place.

Last year, Thorely threatened to quit the party amid fears he could be targeted like the American right-wing political activist Charie Kirk.

He faced pressure from anti-racism campaigners after being co-opted onto Haverfordwest Town Council in June.

A few months later, Thorely told his Facebook followers he was “leaving Reform Wales for now” so he could “take a break from all the craziness”.

He later published a further Facebook post stating he would not stand in the 2026 Senedd elections.

Replaced

In Fflint Wrecsam, newcomer Helen Brown has been added to the list whilst Robert Williams who was originally awarded third place has now been replaced with Paul Ashton.

Williams was initially placed as fourth on the list in the Fflint Wrecsam constituency but was moved to third place when another candidate resigned with the party getting his name wrong on a provisional candidate list published by ITV.

He later resigned after raising concerns with Reform UK about a Nation.Cymru story that revealed how lead candidate Cristiana Emsley had been accused of being involved in a flawed probe into a senior police officer that was subsequently thrown out.

Cristiana Emsley remains Reform’s number one candidate in Fflint Wrecsam.

Reform UK has been plagued with infighting and scandals since the publication of its first Senedd election lists in March.

‘Unprofessional’

The party has been accused of using an “expensive, flawed and unprofessional” vetting process.

A Reform insider who took part in the party’s vetting procedures told us that what they witnessed was “not a merit-based system designed to find the best local representatives” – but a “centrally controlled process” that favoured insiders, parachuted candidates and personal connections over local knowledge and competence.

A Welsh Labour source said: “Reform’s list has been falling apart since they first announced it. The rate they were dropping out before nominations closed, they’d have run out of former Tories to replace them.

“We’ve seen this before with Farage’s political experiments in the Senedd.

“UKIP started with seven AMs in 2016 and ended up with one by 2021. They don’t care about Wales, just about getting Farage into power.”

A Welsh Conservative source said: “Reform’s candidate woes seem to go from bad to worse.

“They’ve gone from having a former leader in jail for accepting bribes from the Russians, to a candidate being forced to step down for performing a Nazi salute.

“Barely a day goes by without more sinister revelations emerging about the background or character of a Welsh Reform candidate.”

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “Time and time again, Reform UK have shown their true colours – with their chaotic infighting and selection process entangled in parachutes, and divisive rhetoric and policies.

“This is not a party serious about Wales, and they are not fit to being anywhere near power here in Wales.”