Reform UK are the real separatists, and they shouldn’t be anywhere near government, in Wales or the UK

Martin Shipton

Every time Andrew RT Davies – or more likely the younger, hard-right men he allows free rein on his social media accounts – mentions Plaid Cymru, he refers to it as a party of “separatists”.

This is considerably ironic, given that the former Tory Senedd group leader was, and remains, one of the foremost advocates in Wales of the economic disaster known as Brexit. The decision to separate the UK from the European Union was, as most people across the UK now recognise, very much against our interests.

A number of journalists, including myself, have written about the serious logistical difficulties Brexit has created for businesses that trade with EU countries.

Before the fateful referendum, Brexiteers used to bang on about EU “red tape”. In reality it’s Brexit that created red tape of a kind British businesses previously didn’t have to worry about. Such hindrances have led to a huge drop in trade between Britain and the EU, wrecking many businesses and diminishing the competitiveness of others.

This has been a significant factor in causing prices to rise for consumers, although you won’t find the right-wing news outlets that act as cheerleaders for Brexit and Reform UK reporting this.

Instead they constantly seek to put the blame for Britain’s woes on migrants – a diversionary tactic that would be laughable if it wasn’t infused with such toxicity.

To his credit, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth adopted an entirely different approach when visiting Brussels this week to meet European partners, stating: “International instability and economic uncertainty are already causing pain for households and businesses across Wales. At a time like this, strengthening economic cooperation with our closest trading partners makes practical sense.

“The EU remains Wales’ most important export market, yet Welsh businesses are facing barriers to trade that are adding costs, delays and uncertainty.

“A Plaid Cymru Welsh Government would be the most internationally minded in our history. I will make the economic case for Wales to build direct links with our European partners – to promote investment, strengthen trade, support jobs and create new opportunities for Welsh businesses.”

Another negative consequence of Brexit that has received even less attention is the impact it has had on the cost of government borrowing, which obviously has a direct effect on public finances, including the cost of public services.

In October 2025 the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales – hardly a haven for hard-left ideologues – published a table that listed the rates of interest that different governments across the world have to pay to those they borrow from.

Government borrowing costs

The table was accompanied by a narrative which stated: “The calculated yield on 10-year UK government gilts on Wednesday 8 October 2025 at around 13:00 BST was 4.7% – the effective interest rate the government would need to pay if it had issued new debt at that time.

“As our chart of the week illustrates, the UK now has the highest government borrowing cost among developed countries, compared with Switzerland 0.2%, Japan 1.7%, Germany 2.7%, Canada 3.2%, Spain 3.2%, Italy 3.5%, France 3.5%, the US 4.1% and Australia 4.4%.

“With debt interest running at around 10% of total public expenditure, the cost of borrowing is a major issue … Reasons for the relatively high borrowing costs in the UK include persistently high inflation, growing public debt, an uncertain economic and fiscal outlook, the Bank of England’s quantitative tightening programme of selling its quantitative easing gilt holdings into the market, and reduced demand from debt investors.

“This contrasts with Switzerland, where a strong currency, low public debt (around 37% of GDP), low inflation, and a lower-than-expected forecast for the fiscal deficit in 2025 permits the government to pay almost nothing to borrow at the moment.

“Eurozone countries also pay less than the UK, even those with high debt levels such as Italy and France, with lower inflation (2.0% vs 3.8% in the UK in August 2025) being a major driver of lower yields on 10-year government bonds. Canada, with much stronger public finances than most developed countries but rising inflation and trade concerns, is paying more than Germany but approximately the same as Spain.

“The US is currently paying 4.1% for new federal government borrowing, with rising inflation and growing fiscal deficits all contributing to a higher risk profile for debt investors. Australia is paying slightly more than the US despite much stronger public finances as it struggles to bring down inflation (3.0% in the year to August 2025).

“Not shown on the chart are other countries with lower 10-year borrowing costs than the UK such as Singapore at 1.8%, the Netherlands at 2.8%, South Korea at 2.9%, Portugal at 3.1%, Greece at 3.3%, and New Zealand at 4.2%. There are also countries with higher 10-year borrowing costs, including India at 6.5%, Mexico at 8.8%, and Brazil at 14.0%.

“… A substantial proportion of the £3.2tn that the UK public sector currently owes (£2.9tn after deducting cash and liquid financial assets) was borrowed when interest rates were much lower, meaning the government is currently paying somewhere in the region of 3% on its debts overall.

“Unfortunately, the need to issue £1.3tn in new debt over the next five years (around half to refinance existing debt as it falls due for repayment and another half to finance planned fiscal deficits, lending and working capital requirements) means that the average weighted effective interest rate on UK debt is likely to increase even as the Bank of England base rate (currently 4.0%) is expected to come down.”

Public finances

This week, on March 20, the BBC published a story that said: “The UK’s borrowing costs have hit their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis as the energy price surge sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran has raised fears over the state of the public finances.

“The benchmark rate for the government’s long-term borrowing costs has climbed above 5%.

“The government debt sell-off is due to concerns about higher interest rates, sticky inflation, and the potential public cost of helping households with energy bills, experts say.

Danni Hewson, AJ Bell’s head of financial analysis, said the Treasury was “stuck between a rock and hard place” managing these issues … The government’s 10-year borrowing rate, known as the yield, reached its 18-year-high on the same day official data revealed UK borrowing rose to £14.3bn in February to the second highest level for that month since records began.”

I spent a few days in Ireland this week, a welcome interlude following an unwelcome intrusion into my home that is now being handled by lawyers representing me.

Sometimes a little distance gives one the opportunity to see how others perceive what is happening to the UK, and to cut through the self-censorship that pervades much of what passes for political reportage and commentary.

‘Serious trouble’

An Irish journalist who has specialised in economics and business reporting for decades, and who pointed me in the direction of the relative costs of government borrowing, said: “Britain is in serious trouble and there are no easy solutions. Brexit has been a disaster and it is awful to see how many people who were conned into voting for it are now being conned a second time by Farage into backing Reform UK.

“Brexit has pushed up the cost of borrowing. Italy has higher levels of debt, but is backed up by the Euro and its cost of borrowing is lower than for the UK government. Britain has also depleted its own manufacturing base since Thatcher.”

The charlatans of Brexit are hoping to rely on the same racist messaging that saw them win the Brexit referendum nearly 10 years ago. Their victory was worthless, except for those wishing to avoid tougher EU regulation, and they have nothing positive to offer for ordinary people now.

Their failure to announce their candidates’ list for a Senedd election due to take place in less than seven weeks’ time strongly suggests they are trying to protect individuals with skeletons in their cupboard.

Reform UK – as well as fellow travellers like Andrew RT Davies – are the real separatists, and they shouldn’t be anywhere near government, in Wales or the UK.