Tuesday, December 16, 2025
TUC brand Reform as a threat to Welsh industry
The paper says that the TUC believe that thousands of jobs in Wales are at risk under Reform and Tory policies that could revive Margaret Thatcher's "industrial destruction":
Ahead of crunch Senedd elections next year, analysis for the TUC found Nigel Farage's party poses the biggest threat to Welsh industry. Reform has vowed to scrap net zero and proposed cutting renewable subsidies, which risks making clean industrial upgrades unviable.
Analysis found this could starve Welsh industry of investment and deny factories vital investment, threatening 39,873 industrial jobs. Reducing investment in home-grown clean power will also make the UK more reliant on imported gas, which means bills can be hit by global shocks like Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
It comes after years of Tory neglect pushed factories, car plants and manufacturing sites in Wales to the brink. Last year, thousands of steel workers in Port Talbot lost their jobs when Tata closed its blast furnaces.
The Conservatives would threaten similar numbers of jobs, but researchers said the likelihood of the party enacting their policies was less likely. By comparison, Labour, Plaid Cymru, the Greens and the Lib Dems have all made stronger commitments to retaining or expanding clean industrial upgrades.
Flintshire, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire are the local authorities most at risk from job losses, with over 2,000 industrial jobs at risk in each, the analysis found. 7,765 auto workers are threatened, as are 7,544 metals workers and 5,813 plastics and rubber workers, both directly and indirectly in the supply chain.
TUC Cymru President Tom Hoyles said: “Welsh industry needs urgent action from all parties to survive and thrive in the 21st century. Policies which seek to turn back the clock and revive Thatcher’s industrial destruction would put thousands of Welsh jobs at risk.“
Industrial workers and the TUC are launching the “Save Welsh Industry – No More Site Closures” campaign this week. They are calling on politicians in Westminster and Cardiff Bay to bring forward measures to slash industrial electricity costs and to accelerate clean energy investment.
The campaign also demands work to prevent offshoring of jobs and emissions and to promote domestic industry, as well as a commitment to buy Welsh-made steel, cement and materials for big infrastructure projects.
It is about time the consequences of Reform's policies were spelt out in this way.
