Tory MS raises concerns over ‘impartial’ media coverage of Senedd election
Emily Price
A Welsh Conservative Senedd Member has raised strong concerns about a lack of “fair, balanced and impartial” media coverage in the run up to the most significant election since the dawn of devolution.
Brecon and Radnorshire MS James Evans took to social media on Tuesday (January 13) to accuse journalists of disproportionate “political cheerleading” for Plaid Cymru as Wales prepares to head to the polls on May 7.
In a post to X, Evans wrote: “It’s alarming to see large parts of the Welsh media cosying up to Plaid Cymru ahead of the Senedd election.
“It exposes how deeply entrenched separatist, left wing sympathisers are within our media, pushing a one sided narrative.
“People deserve fair, balanced, and impartial coverage not political cheerleading.”
We asked Evans if he was talking about any news outlets in particular.
We also pointed out that Nation.Cymru had made several offers in recent months for the Welsh Conservatives to have space on our news site to publish any opinion columns they wished to write ahead of the Senedd election.
Evans told us he felt journalists in Wales were giving Plaid’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth “disproportionate airtime” with “little challenge”.
He said: “To be clear, my post was making a general point rather than singling out specific programmes or individuals.
“It increasingly feels that balanced reporting has fallen away, with Welsh media giving Plaid Cymru and particularly Rhun ap Iorwerth, disproportionate airtime and relatively little challenge.
“That perception is reinforced by how interconnected Welsh media is, with many senior figures in Plaid having worked for the BBC or within the same media circle, and with supporters or former staff now in senior positions or commentators in Welsh media.
“With a Senedd election approaching, people deserve fair, balanced and impartial coverage, not political cheerleading for any one party.”
Poll
A new Senedd voting intention poll carried out by ITV Cymru Wales has predicted that Plaid Cymru will be the largest party in Cardiff Bay after the election this year.
Rhun ap Iorwerth’s party increased its vote share from 30% to 37% since ITV’s last poll in September 2025, with Reform UK dropping from 29% to 23%.
For the first time ever, the Green Party has flown into third place at 13%, with Labour in fourth at 10% alongside the Senedd’s current opposition party, the Welsh Conservatives.
‘Left-wing’
Evans’ comments about coverage of the key election comes after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused the BBC of left-wing bias because the organisation’s interim director of nations, Rhuanedd Richards, previously worked for Plaid Cymru.
In a video message posted on X, Farage said: “Rhuanedd Richards was the chief executive of Plaid.
“She worked, during the Labour-Plaid coalition, for the government of Wales.
“She’s now a director of BBC Wales, on just over £190,000 a year.
“There is living proof that, right the way through to the top, the BBC is infected with left-wing bias.”
‘Committed’
Richards started her career as a journalist with BBC Wales and later moved into politics, becoming Plaid’s chief executive between 2011 and 2016.
She retuned to the BBC in 2018 and has been director of BBC Wales since 2021, taking up her current £190,000 a year role as interim director of nations in June 2025.
The BBC says Richards has always been “open about her career history” and is “wholly committed to upholding the impartiality of the BBC.”
Following Farage’s comments, the National Union of Journalists in Wales “unequivocally condemned” Reform’s attacks on the Welsh media.
Co-chairs of the NUJ’s Welsh Executive Council, Dr Rachel Howells and David Nicholson, said Farage has “no evidence” to back up his claims that the BBC Wales was based, adding that Reform’s leader had sought to smear Richards.
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Most media “consumed” in Wales comes from London. Perhaps he’d like to extend his pleas for fair and balanced coverage (which would be wonderful) also to include media that has its source outside Wales.
I never would have thought that presenting the news was generally biased towards Plaid Cymru when the news reflects opinion polls conducted by organisations that are not allied to Plaid, or indeed any other political organisaiton. Individual journalists will indeed be biased, but this does mean they can substantially distort the reality on the ground. What I think is happening is that Wales is beginnnig to question the ‘old order’ of British centralism focused on Westminster and the Westminster based (and biased) parties that have failed Wales for so long, and the old order does not like this new reality.… Read more »
Isn’t it ironic that Reform, the party that has the greatest positive coverage by the Daily Mail, which has the greatest newspaper circulation by far in Wales, and massive positive coverage by GB News, should complain about Welsh Media ( i.e. BBC Cymru and BBC Wales and 2 social media outlets -Will Hayward & Nation. Cymru) . That’s beside the vast numbers of Reform bots on X, Facebook, Instagram and Tik-tok. Doesn’t seem very fair to me that Reform, massively funded by oil barons, Elon Musk and probably Russian money is agitating about Plaid Cymru, funded by ordinary people like… Read more »
No doubt Evans hasn’t said a word about the right wing totally biased English media who talk Wales down at every possible opportunity
Meanwhile about those Telegraph hatchet jobs.
Tories have benefitted from uncritical mainstream media for decades controlled by their pals like Murdoch, Rothermere and Beaverbrook.
It is ironic that now those titles are heavily supporting Reform, the Tories are panicking. Perhaps if they had some actual supporters on the ground the Tories would be able to get their message across.
Maybe it would help if they articulated some policies which supported the wishes and aspirations of ordinary Welsh people?
The sun, the times, the telegraph, the daily star, the express, the daily mail…for decades at every general election these newspaper titles have been enthusiastic ‘cheerleaders’ for the tories….dont recall James Evans being concerned by their lack of ‘impartiality’?
Seems like James Evans is only concerned about (alleged) ‘media bias’ when it suits him? Just a whining hypocrite already getting his excuses in early for the tories disastrous result in the forthcoming Senedd election.
Telegraph, mail, express, sun, musks pedo site, meta, US media, all these will bat for the cons as well as farage.
How pathetic. A Tory MS doesn’t like what the polls are showing in terms of the advance of Plaid Cymru so decides to shoot the messenger for reporting on it. And when asked for evidence to support this laughable claim, he can’t provide it. Rather than rely on the opinion polls, why don’t we wait until the election in May and see whether the voters agree with Evans. Or could it be that he’s worried about losing his seat because voters don’t like what he stands for?
Political Cheerleading ?
Very little going on internally at Welsh Conservatives .
As if they are holed up waiting in some antechamber to defect to Reform
Roll back to the Caerphilly by -election the poor Conservative candidate must have felt abandoned.
He had very little suppor.t
Complete no show from Andrew Davies .
He was noticeably quiet .
Impartial media coverage lol. Do me a favour. I don’t hear Welsh Tory MS James Evans say similar about Reform UK and Nigel Farage’s unbalanced coverage on TV & radio by the right-wing media. Sounds to me like it’s sour grapes. That he knows the Welsh Conservatives are going to be annihilated in May and Plaid Cymru are on course to be the next Welsh Government.
I’m sure he’ll have his say in the Brecon & Radnor and maybe the County Times forgetting of course as many have already said that we have a media, and importantly social media, tilted heavily in favour of views on the right. How many times has Farage been on Question Time versus a representative from Plaid? Sadly James who works hard for the area appears to have had a lapse in memory.
Then maybe you should support the devolution of broadcasting?
Is it just a coincidence that this fellow has an uncanny resemblance to a certain Mr. Schickelgruber?
Doesnt seems at all worried about the London based conservative supporting media that dominate UK politics. They even call them “The Friendlies” and get privileged access to Conservative ministers – as demonstrated by Bravermam taking just those friendly publications to Rwanda with her.
If you want a conversation about media impartiality there is plenty of material to talk about but Welsh media covering Plaid is unlikely to feature.
Daily Mail, Telegraph, The Sun, Twitter, Facebook, BBC UK, The Times, The Express. All major news sources that are right wing. Not a problem for James Evans.
Eccentric, to say the least, to hear a Tory politician pleading for “fair, balanced and impartial” media coverage for his faction when the overwhelming majority of the news and comment media consumed by people in Wales backs the political right. Maybe his unspoken fear is that they’re beginning to back Farage’s faction rather than his own?
Funny how this clown doesn’t complain about the tories parachuted into the top of the BbC
And the resulting double-dipping for right-wing political views that comes from wall-to-wall Reform coverage justified by polling numbers on top of normal levels of Cons appearances justified by number of MPs. The BBC needs to pick one metric to decide impartiality, not cherry pick to suit their Johnson era political appointees. More Reformers must mean fewer Cons on QT.
Mr Evans’ comments primarily focus on the BBC because a former employee of Plaid Cymru now works for the BBC. A quick look at the BBC Wales political website back to January 4th shows that there has been nothing about the big political story of the New Year with Plaid Cymru having a commanding lead in the most recent Senedd opinion poll. If anything this suggests under reporting.
Looks like we have Andrew RT’s tribute act in place, Evans only got elected because he’s from a local farming family & all the farmers came out and voted for him and Kirtsy Williams stood down.