Senedd election is a straight choice between ‘Plaid hope and Reform chaos’ – Rhun ap Iorwerth

Emily Price

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth will today address his party’s spring conference hailing the upcoming Senedd election as a straight choice between “Plaid hope and Reform UK chaos”.

Speaking to delegates in Newport, ap Iorwerth will set out the case for voting Plaid Cymru on May 7 whilst accusing Nigel Farage’s party of having “no accountability, no seriousness, no policies, and no shame” in using Wales as an “electoral springboard”.

The next Senedd election is widely expected to be one of the most significant in Wales’ history.

Opinion polls show a two-horse race between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK with the lead frequently swapping.

Both parties are significantly outperforming previously dominant Welsh Labour which has slumped to record lows in support.

The latest Senedd voting intention poll from YouGov in January saw Plaid on 37% of the vote, opening up a 14 point lead over Reform UK who polled at 23% of the vote.

The total sample size for the Senedd voting intentions MPR model was 1,220 adults  with fieldwork undertaken between 5th – 12th January 2026.

The Greens also saw a surge since last autumn on 13%, up seven points, alongside Welsh Labour and the Welsh Conservatives on 10% each. The Liberal Democrats polled at 5%.

On Friday (February 27), ap Iorwerth is expected to highlight the contrast between his party and Reform UK – hailing Plaid’s “hopeful vision” and branding Reform a party of ex-Tories that will bring “chaos” to Wales if elected.

Pledge

Slamming Welsh Labour also, Plaid’s leader will pledge “to stand up to Westminster in a way the current First Minister is unwilling to do so”.

In his speech at the conference, ap Iorwerth will say: “We offer hope – hope that can overcome people’s fears of other political forces leading Wales down a dark path.

“Hope that things can get better for our health service, that our elderly relatives won’t have to wait so long for treatment or that the burden of childcare costs on our sons and daughters’ household budgets will be eased.

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

Warning

The Plaid Cymru leader will warn that Reform-run councils in England are the “canaries in the mine” when it comes to what the party would have in store for Wales.

He will say: “Friends, 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 or Reform.

“Conference, we all know that a Reform government full of ex-Tories would set our country back decades.

“Faceless candidates and feckless council leaders from Northumberland to Kent are the canaries in the mine when it comes to what Farage has in store for our parliament and our people.

“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 and our nationhood.

“No accountability, no seriousness, no policies, and no shame in using our nation just as an electoral springboard, nothing else.

“And what of Farage’s man in Wales? An ex-Tory leader of a London council? Thatcher’s own council no less, but this man took privatisation to levels even she didn’t imagine.

“When we asked for a Barnet consequential, this really isn’t what we had in mind!

“With such a damning litany for a parade of ex-Tories, you’d expect them to be no-hopers too. But they’re not.

“They have deep pockets to spread propaganda and evangelise the deep fakes of Musk’s putrid platforms, and they have the right wing media in the palm of their hands.

“But despite their rags, and their riches, Wales would be so much wealthier without them.”

Different

In advance of launching Plaid Cymru’s ‘First 100 Days’ plan for government, ap Iorwerth is also expected to explain how his party will aim to deliver a better government for the people of Wales.

He will say: “I want us to do politics differently in Wales. And here’s how. From Brexit to Covid, a sense of being unheard and not listened to has been normalised.

“A feeling of being left behind, of helplessness in the face of events and tribulation, of being let down, even abandoned by conventional politics – and the ‘establishment political parties’ – is manifest.

“We have to promote the kind of democracy that engages people and dispels cynicism.

“By empowering individuals and communities, something which runs deep in our thinking and in our values, we can revitalise what has become an almost redundant political model.

“We can offer Wales a different kind of deal, drawing on our collective experiences and aspirations to shape a better Wales.

“We aim to be known as a team that runs a better government, or quite simply got the basics right.

“We’ll be people centred, thinking always of the impact our policies, legislation and actions will have on people’s lives in Wales.

“We’ll be open, transparent and digitally driven, sharing information and insights, highlighting opportunities and challenges – to build a new confidence and a new trust in our Welsh democracy.

“We’ll be cooperative and collaborative, bringing people together within government, across the public sector business and beyond, to solve common problems together.

“And above all else we’ll be unrelenting in our focus on outcomes not outputs, leaning in not on how much we do but rather on the return we get from doing it.”