Union members should take a lead in exposing misinformation spread by Reform UK, says head of TUC Cymru

Martin Shipton

Trade unionists should take a lead in combatting misinformation being spread by far right groups including Reform UK in Wales, the general secretary of TUC Cymru has said.

Speaking at a Rebuilding Unity conference in Swansea, Shavanah Taj said: “Given the recent polling, it looks like potentially Reform could do really well in Wales, so we need to be prepared and we need to understand how we can challenge some of the negative information they are peddling: Nigel Farage said only yesterday that in effect he wants to kick out many, many people who live in Wales and work to deliver key public services. Yet he hasn’t got an answer to what we’re going to do if those individuals aren’t actually here to deliver those key functions.”

Shortlisted

Ms Taj, who has been shortlisted to be a Labour candidate in next May’s Senedd election, said the people of Wales were standing at a crossroads: “The challenges ahead are real. The cost of living still bites. Public services are strained, and our communities still bear the scars of financial crashes that were created in expensive offices, not in the valleys and coasts of Wales.

“Every day trade unionists fight against a tidal wave of inequality of opportunity, and of a politics that too often feels distant, detached.

“And yet we are also at a moment of possibility. Because every movement, every campaign, every union branch, every rep, every working person has power. Power to shape what comes next. Power to come together and start the conversation. Power to reclaim the promise of Wales for all our people. Not in a hateful way, but with a united and unified voice.”

Divisions

Turning her attention to next May’s Senedd election, Ms Taj pointed out that polling day was only 32 weeks away. She said: “You know the challenges ahead, you know that there are divisions in our communities, and you came here because you don’t want to live in a fractured, divided world. You want better. You want to rebuild, you want to make a community for you, your family and for everyone in Wales.

“It is our chance to demand a Wales that works for working people. A Wales that doesn’t treat our public services as a cost, but as our lifeline. A Wales where good, secure work, not zero-hours uncertainty, is the norm. Where every child, every family, has the dignity of a decent home, the security of a living wage, and access to good schools, good care, a working hospital, a clean environment.

“We are seeing the rise of populist movements, voices offering discontent, promising change, speaking to frustrations. Disillusionment is real. In parts of our communities, people feel left behind. And so they look for alternatives. There are those political parties that pray on this frustration and cultivate it and grow it until they breed hate.

“One thing is certain. If we do nothing, the narrative will be written without us, by people who don’t share our values, or understand the real struggles of ordinary people. So we have to take action.

“We must organise. We need to reach into every workplace, every community, every home. Make sure people know their rights, are proud of their rights, and are able to assert them. Bring in voices that too often are absent: young people, workers in sectors forgotten, migrants, those in precarious work. Our strength lies in our reach, in our solidarity, in our capacity to stand together.

“And secondly, we need to shape the political story to own what progressive change looks like here in Wales. We’re developing manifesto ideas for progressive parties that push for restored investment in public services; that push for good housing, clean energy, efficient and affordable public transport, secure, equal, fairly paid and safe workplaces and we want to make sure our activism is loud and accessible.

“Because rebuilding isn’t just about repairing what has been broken. It’s about creating something new, something better. And that demands ambition.

“Let us name some truths. Public services in Wales are the backbone of our communities. From the health boards to care workers, from teachers to support staff. Yet they have been stretched to breaking point. We cannot accept a future in which communities wait longer, suffer more, because the system is underfunded, understaffed and undervalued.

“Our economy depends on stable jobs, on local supply chains, on fair pay. Insecure contracts, low wage sectors, and precarious work corrode dignity and undermine the possibility of building stable lives. We need people at every level to earn a living they can rely on.

“Inequality threatens not just fairness, but social cohesion. If people feel cut off, unheard, invisible, the risk is that fear and frustration will fuel division, not solidarity. For too long, politicians haven’t spoken to us as people: we are numbers on a spreadsheet or tropes on a mosaic constituency voting sheet. As trade unionists we have another way to get our voices heard and we need to use that now.

“The climate emergency demands action. Green jobs, investment in clean industries, in public transport, in renewable energy these are not ‘nice to haves’. They are essentials for our future, for our children, for our communities.”

Community groups

Setting out what trade unionists should do, Ms Taj said: “Firstly, we need to play to our strengths. The networks we have, the union branches, the local community groups. They are all places of hope. When a hospital threatens cuts, when a school is under threat, when workers are denied rights, we need to stand up together. Support each other. Protect each other.

“Second, cultivate leadership. Because in every workplace, there are people who care, people who can organise, people whose voices can become powerful. We must continue investing in our programmes like the women’s activist programme, the Black activist programme and our young workers activist programme. We must ensure that marginalised voices are heard.

“Third, engage politically. Not just up to May 2026, though that is critical, but constantly. Hold elected representatives, of whatever party, to account. Demand manifestos that put working people first. Vote, campaign, make clear our expectations. Let no political platform go unchallenged if it does not promise justice, fairness, opportunity.

“Fourth, build alliances. Trade unionists have always worked through coalitions. We work across sectors, across communities, with activists, with civic society. Our struggles intersect: against poverty, for racial justice, for gender equality, for environmental sustainability. Let us find those common causes and let us be loud in our insistence that policies must reflect these intersections.

“I know this work is hard. I know that sometimes it feels that change is slow, that progress is always on the horizon but never quite arrives. But we have histories to draw on, traditions to root ourselves in, examples of victories won by ordinary people, organising together. And we can do it again.

“In Wales, we must remain laser focused on building an alternative narrative to hate. So that everyone knows that in Wales your postcode doesn’t determine whether your hospital is underfunded. In Wales your work is respected, and in Wales children born in Blaenau Gwent, Pembrokeshire, Holyhead or Rhyl have the same chances to reach their full potential.

“In May 2026, the people of Wales will have a choice. Not just about who runs the Senedd but about what kind of Wales we want. Let’s make sure that choice is clear. That the choice is between fairness and division; between community and isolation; between hope and cynicism.

“And in that choice, we trade unionists must lead. Not from behind. Not quietly. But boldly. Confidently. Unafraid. Because the future demands nothing less.

So today, I ask each of you:

Speak in your workplaces. Let people know what’s at stake.

Build your branches. Invite the invisible, include the unheard.

Hold decision-makers to account. Demand manifestos that make real change.

Stand with your neighbours, your communities. Rebuild not just institutions but trust. Rebuild not just buildings, but a sense of belonging.

“Let us go into 2026 not afraid but fired up. Not waiting for change but making it. Not hoping for better but actively rebuilding it.”

By-election

Later, referring to the October 23 Senedd by-election in Caerphilly, Kevin Courtney of the trade-union backed campaign group Stand Up To Racism told the conference: “To stop Reform in Caerphilly that means voting Plaid Cymru.”

Sarah Rees, Plaid Cymru’s number two candidate in Penybont Morgannwg in next May’s Senedd election, said: “When even seasoned trade union leaders are saying keeping out Reform means voting for Plaid Cymru, it’s clear the tide is turning.

“If voters in Wales want to protect our hard won rights, Plaid Cymru is the party that stands up for them and for Wales.”