Welsh Tory leader to rule out deal with Reform after Senedd election
Kyle Bright
Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar will dismiss the idea of a deal with Reform UK or Plaid Cymru if either become the largest party in the Senedd after May’s election.
His remarks are expected to come during a party conference on Friday (13 February) after the UK Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, claimed that parties who spoke about deals before an election are “not really interested in helping the public” during a visit to the Senedd in January.
During his speech at the Welsh Conservative Conference in Llandudno, Millar is expected to say: “I often get asked, ‘Will you do a deal with Reform or Plaid after the elections in May?’
“Well let me answer that question very clearly. The only deal I’m interested in is a deal with the people of Wales. If you vote Welsh Conservative, you will get Welsh Conservative.”
The conference will follow the recent defection of former Conservative Senedd member for Brecon and Radnorshire, James Evans, alongside the unveiling of ex-Tory council leader Dan Thomas as Reform’s leader in Wales.
On Reform, the Welsh Tory leader is expected to acknowledge why people may be “tempted” by Reform but will claim that the party offers “no credible solutions”.
“Reform like to wag their fingers and identify problems, but they offer no credible solutions. They don’t want to be in government after the elections in May they are terrified of the responsibility!”, Millar will add.
He will continue: “Nigel Farage himself has acknowledged that his party isn’t ready for government and said that he simply wants Reform to be the largest opposition party. That’s because Reform isn’t a serious party.
“Reform is a limited company more interested in selling football shirts and merchandise at events, than running a country. Their conferences are not serious political events. They are end of the pier performances.
“Their former leader in Wales is serving 10 years in prison for accepting bribes to make pro-Russia statements. And their current leader has been parachuted in from London. Their plans don’t add up. They speak of nationalising industries. Reopening inefficient coal mines. And increasing welfare spending.
“It sounds more like an economic plan from Jeremy Corbyn and Dianne Abbot than a party with a leader who claims to be a disciple of Margaret Thatcher.”
Millar: Plaid are ‘extremists’
With polling suggesting that the May election will be a race between Reform UK and Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Tory leader is expected to label the latter party as “extremists”, saying: “Plaid are desperately trying to present themselves as an alternative to Labour. But the truth is that they have been helping to keep Labour in power. So Labour’s failures are Plaid’s failures.
“Plaid want everyone thinking they are a bunch of friendly moderate, but they are nothing of the sort. They are extremists.”
Mr Millar will hit out at Plaid on independence, calling them “obsessed with the constitution”: “Their sole reason for existing is to break apart the United Kingdom. For Plaid, the answers to every problem, is ‘we need more powers’ and ‘we need more money’.”
He will add: “A Plaid Government would focus their time, energy and attention on their ultimate aim – to rip Wales from the UK. Independence would jeopardise people’s pensions, and ability to live, work, or study elsewhere in the UK.
“But separation from Britain would not make Wales stronger. It would make us poorer, weaker, and more divided.”
He will also criticise the welcoming of the Cuban ambassador by Plaid MSs, as well as having previously “posed for photos and handshakes with anti-Israel protestors”.
In addition, he will touch upon his belief that Plaid Cymru’s positions on nuclear energy and defence will “destroy our economic security” and “undermine” Wales’s national security.
‘Labour has no solutions’
Millar will claim that Labour’s 27 years of rule in Wales has “failed” public services, stating: “Our NHS isn’t working. People are waiting too long for tests, treatment and ambulances, and people are dying as a result. Almost 40,000 have died while stuck on a waiting list since the pandemic.
“Our education system is failing. 1 in 5 children are leaving school functionally illiterate and incidents of violence are on the rise. Just last week saw yet another Welsh school locked-down and the hospitalisation of a teacher following an attack by a pupil.
“And our economy is struggling. People here in Wales are the lowest paid in Britain and you are more likely to be unemployed here than elsewhere in the country, with official figures showing that unemployment in Wales is at a 10 year high.
“Labour has no solutions to these problems. They have failed our schools. Failed our NHS and failed our economy. Wales is the sick man of Britain. It’s not good enough.
The leader of the Welsh Tories will reference a moment involving the Labour First Minister, Eluned Morgan, that made headlines after she encouraged people to “stop watching Netflix” and “go out to the pub” to help hospitality businesses succeed.
Millar will say: “The reason that Welsh pubs are closing, shops are shutting, and farmers are fuming is nothing to do with Bridgerton or Stranger Things, it’s because, after 27 years of Labour-rule, Wales isn’t working!”
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You know he will. If it is close enough he has a sniff of power. There is a fag paper between them on policy and attitude. See ARTD. Born again reform and wont admit it.
Of course. If the result was closer than expected and the maths make a Tory / Reform coalition possible then they would owe it to the electorate to step up. The only other choice in that scenario would be for the Tories to prop up a Plaid / Labour / Green/ Lib Dem hodge-podge which they surely would not do.
Unless the polls are way out though, its surely going to be a Plaid / Green government maybe propped up by Lib Dems or Labour stragglers.
Polls are the things that make dreamers get carried away. Has any of these parties communicated with you or your community in fairly specific policy terms? If they have lucky old you. So far it all rhetoric and mud slinging, so nothing new.
Re: No deal with Deform. That’s because they will all have defected by then. Re: ‘Extremists’ remark. Pure projection again. Nothing they say …
Very true.
Sounds like a man facing redundancy!
The Senedd is designed for collaborative working. There is little likelihood of any party gaining an overall majority of 49 seats so there will need to be deals made for any government to happen! Plaid, Green and LibDemswould be best but sadly Reformatory could be the case as Millar will have no choice but to support them whatever he says now!
The maths will be what they be. Personally, I’d find it a shame if we had a Plaid / Green / Lib Dem / Labour coalition as it will just mean no change for Wales – same agenda continues.
Millar clearly isn’t bright enough to realise the Common Travel Area exists, and will continue to exist post-independence. The only thing holding Wales back is the union’s existence.
Don’t remind Reform that the Irish are still enjoying free movement in the UK.
Interesting that you say the Union is holding us back yet Plaids analysis is that we need more support sent from England? Which is right?
Well if Cymru is such a burden to the English taxpayer then they should throw us out of the Union. Actually Cymru can raise revenue without going cap in hand to Wasteminster for more funding in the Union. Cymru is already short changed by 5 Billion pounds over HST2 ,this inadequacy can end if rail infrastructure was devolved as is the case in Scotland and NI. Again Wasteminster refuses Cymru to raise revenue from Devolving Crown Estates as is the case again in Scotland and NI. The Unionists tell us that Union means equality yet even in The Devolved United… Read more »
The second point is evidence of the first.
Since a Reform UK Senedd government would be a festival of economic and administrative disaster, it would be self-destructive for the Welsh Tories to form a governing alliance with them and lead to nul points for them in future Welsh elections. In practice, since Reform are more likely to form the Opposition after May, the Tories are more likely to join with Reform UK in braying against any even-remotely progressive or pro-Wales legislation proposed by a Plaid Cymru government.
What policies are you expecting to see from Plaid that are different to what we had under Labour?
Let’s start with Cymru first! That’s nowhere near where Labour have been lately and absolutely nowhere near where the Cons have ever been and even further away from where Reform are ever likely to be!
Should the Conservatives speak openly of coalitions with Reform UK, I think this could cause a further decline in the Tory’s fortunes, where those members who simply cannot abide Farage and his brand of politics might well abandon ship and look elsewhere.
Does it really matter arithmetically? The Tory group will be able to meet in a phone box after May in all probability.
When the polls had Plaid and Reform level pegging, the 6 to 12 seats the Tories look likely to win could have been crucial. With Plaid now appearing to be well ahead, it looks less relevant.
That’s a fair point; but even when Reform were riding high I never saw a serious poll that suggested a Reform/Tory majority – low to mid 40s was the best I recall.
I think its only reasonable that parties be expected to maturely discuss coalition or confidence & supply arrangements after any election which has not resulted in a clear majority for a single party. We haven’t had enough of that thinking in Wales which has meant 26 years of continual Labour rule because opposition parties haven’t been willing to work together to offer an alternative. It looks like change will be resulting from these Senedd elections although it looks highly likely to me that we’ll have a change of faces (Plaid instead of Labour) but following pretty much the same stagnant… Read more »
In normal times you’d be right but May is a two way fight between the Abolish Wales party and whoever has the greatest chance of defeating them.
Your last paragraph is the key issue. If Plaid win and follow the same stagnant agenda, people will become very disillusioned very quickly. So far, the signs are not that encouraging. Boldness required.
Darren Millar is living in hope. The Welsh Conservatives won’t have enough MSs to form a coalition. He must understand this simple fact: Wales is not a Conservative‑voting country. His party only rules over Wales because of the English block vote at Westminster, which enables proxy rule over the nation. Since the mid‑19th century—and even at the height of Thatcherism—Wales has never given any Conservative government legitimacy. And lest we forget, Reform UK is full to the brim with extreme far‑right ex‑Conservatives. If the Welsh people seriously believe that Darren Millar and Dan Thomas—the “Chuckle Brothers” of Conservatism—have Wales’s best… Read more »
While I understand the campaign politics of ruling out deals with opponents, it is silly in a system which is likely to require a deal. My political perspective is centre-right and so the Conservatives hold an appeal for me in principle. However, even if you ignore the polls and assume every party was in with an equal chance, they fundamentally are not ready for government. Plaid Cymru on the other hand are, they have serious people ready to govern. Of course it is a minority view (maybe a minority of one), but for me the idea of Plaid for good… Read more »
A predictable response from Mr Millar. But based on recent trends, potential Conservative party voters might want to reflect on just how many of those Conservatives they do succeed in electing will remain with the party?