Would-be Reform Senedd Members ‘assessed by arrogant young councillors from England’

Martin Shipton

A disillusioned former Reform Senedd candidate who quit the party this week has opened up further about his reasons for leaving, saying that assessments of potential MSs had been undertaken by arrogant young councillors from England.

During a podcast with Faith Jarvis, a Reform-supporting evangelist from Neath, Cllr Owain Clatworthy spoke for the first time publicly about an approach he made to join Labour shortly after winning a Bridgend council by-election in May 2025.

He said he had been “on the verge of being bullied” by someone in Reform, adding: “It left me with no choice. There was a lot of backstabbing, a lot of drama. I didn’t know what to do. There were people in the Labour group, even though I didn’t agree with their national politics, who were very kind. It plays on the strings of your heart. And I thought: ‘Oh my gosh, what am I doing here?’ And then in the end, despite the claim that I was turned down, I said: ‘No, I’ll stick with Reform.’

Cllr Clatworthy said that the Caerphilly by-election with Llyr Powell as the Reform candidate was “an eye opener”.

“They’d want you to go out on leafleting days and you’d turn up and you’d have no ‘thank you for coming; great to see you’. You’d have none of that. So while everyone else was leafleting, myself and other members and elected officials were used as minions.

“That alarmed me because I thought: ‘These people, they’re really in it for themselves’. But I thought I’d say nothing, I’d stick to the local patch, because we’ve got a country to save. Yes, totally. And I’m so sad at what we’re seeing over the media in the last two months. Farage looks stressed. He does not look composed. He’s said in the past that he doesn’t want to be Prime Minister. I don’t think he’s got it in him.”

Tory defectors

Cllr Clatworthy said he thought Reform was “destroying its brand” by accepting so many Tory defectors: “What’s happened is, these Tories have come over and they’ve started bringing over their staff. Their staff have been given roles. It’s jobs for the boys.”

He moved on to talk about his application to become a Senedd candidate, saying: “Last year I thought I’d put my head above the parapet. Reform were charging £150 to stand for the Senedd. And I thought, there’s a country to save. I couldn’t care which position I had on the list. So I put myself forward and paid £150. They take you to the assessment centre and take you through different things. [Former UKIP MS] Mark Reckless was there. Dan Thomas. I did the same assessment with him – it’s very rigorous, but those who were marking these assessments on public speaking, some of them were ex-Tories, some of them young councillors from England who’ve got no understanding about Wales.

“The head of the recruitment is someone called Cllr Max Harrison from Kent County Council. The first time I ever met Max was there and I said: ‘Hi, nice to meet you. I’m a county councillor’. And he just sort of looked at me. I thought: ‘Gosh – nice people, aren’t they?’ Very out-of-touch people who should never be anywhere near politics, you know, politics – or any public [service]. You’ve seen how well Kent County Council’s going. Pride comes before the fall.

“Anyway, according to them, I didn’t meet the pass. Just to state, I believe that Reform’s assessment centres, which many candidates paid, was a money making scheme.

“So they said: ‘Would you want to come back again, pay another £150?’ So I went back again and they said: ‘Oh, you’ve just come under the bar. Just, literally.’ And a couple of weeks later: ‘Would you come a third time? We think you’ll pass.’ And I said: ‘No.’ In total I spent nearly £400. So on the phone they said: ‘We’d like you to stand and we think you’ll pass.’ And I said: “With all due respect, I enjoy being a county councillor. I serve the people. They’re my interests. Clearly you lot aren’t in it for the right reasons.’ So I said no.”

Paper candidate

Cllr Clatworthy said he had later been phoned by David Thomas, Reform’s director in Wales, who asked him if he would stand in Merthyr Tydfil as a paper candidate. He said no.

“They only want you when it suits them,” Cllr Clatworthy said. “There’s no communication between all the county councillors. No support. We’re guinea pigs.”

David Thomas asked him if would stand in Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea and Port Talbot. He responded: “I’m not interested in positions. What will my residents think if you put me up in Merthyr? That I haven’t got their interests at heart, even if a paper candidate. He didn’t like that, and said: ‘I’m looking for people who are loyal to this party.’ And I said: ‘Are you joking? Loyal to this party? After all the things we’ve seen that HQ have done and the likes of you making your own decisions. And I said no.

“And then he rang me back and said: ‘Would you stand for Bridgend and Vale as number six? And I said: ‘Yes, that’s fine. Happy to.’ So I accepted it, thinking that the vetting for the other candidates was safe. I said to Dave: ‘My focus is on getting Reform into a majority next May on Bridgend council.’ He was: Yeah. I’m all for that. Good on you. Thanks, mate.’

And then it came out about Corey Edwards, the ex-Tory, lead candidate in Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg being pictured doing a Nazi salute. He stood down. Reform’s number two candidate in the constituency, Derek Roberts, has also stood down following the discovery of offensive Facebook postings. He has been replaced by someone from Pontypridd called Gareth Thomas, who has no connection to the area.

‘Sabotage’

Summing up his reasons for standing down as a candidate and quitting Reform, Cllr Clatworthy said: “They’re not the party I joined back in 2020. I think they don’t understand Wales. I spoke to someone at the top after I’d left the party and said there were two things people in Reform’s HQ were possibly doing. Quite frankly they are either thick or they’re trying to sabotage those who have been loyal to the party, who want the best for their country. I think it’s a bit of both. This person agreed they’re in trouble.

“They’re on a downward trajectory now, and I don’t think it’s going to get better for them – unless they’re honest and hold their hands up high, the public will see right through them.

Cllr Clatworthy said there had been a decline in membership, with far fewer attending local branch meetings: “Last year we had a few meetings for Reform in Bridgend and Porthcawl and the Vale with 150 people, 100 people, 200 people. We’ve had two meetings in the last two months. At one we had 19 people. Last week we had a fundraiser and there were 15, 19, or 20 people there.

“There’s a mass exodus of members who are disgruntled and not happy. And some of these top Senedd candidates for Reform are only interested in getting in – so long as they get their pay check of £80 grand a year, they don’t care.

“Because of self-interest, pride, greed, money and people who are in it for the wrong reasons, I don’t see where we’re going to go from here.

“Reform is going to implode.”