‘Restore’ gaffe sees Reform MS mocked
Emily Price
A Reform Senedd Member has been mocked after mistakenly saying he represented a rival political party.
During a debate about young people and employment in the Senedd this week, Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr MS Jason O’Connell told the Chamber that “Restore” would be abstaining from the vote.
Mr O’Connell didn’t appear to notice that he had misspoken.
Members of the Senedd could be heard whispering afterwards with one saying: “Did he say Restore?”
The Restore Britain party was launched in February last year by Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe after he was suspended from Reform UK.
Some left-wing commentators have labelled Restore as a far-right extremist group because it goes significantly further than Reform on immigration.
Nigel Farage wants to drastically reduce overall migration, end mass immigration, and strictly prioritise British workers.
Mr Lowe’s party wants to implement net-negative immigration with mass deportations of all illegal migrants within three years.
Restore Britain also advocates for the return of the death penalty and the abolition of the Senedd.
The party has faced a significant backlash for attracting support from far-right extremists and neo-fascist leaders.
Welsh Labour used a Senedd TV clip of Mr O’Connell’s slip of the tongue to create a social media post mocking him over the gaffe.
Captioning the video, Welsh Labour wrote: “Restore or Reform? A Freudian slip from Jason O’Connell or is there something he’d like to tell us?”
Mr O’Connell joined Reform UK in August 2024, having previously served as an Independent councillor in Torfaen.
He won his seat in the Senedd under Reform’s banner in May.
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He’s one of my MSs regrettably
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