Thursday, June 18, 2026
Reform own goals
The newsletter tells us that Reform have been on quite a journey when it comes to childcare:
During the election campaign, their manifesto didn’t even mention it. Then last week 11 of their 34 MSs – a third of their members – bizarrely voted in favour of an amendment that criticised its absence from their proposals for Wales.
We asked Reform why this had happened but didn’t receive a response. It seems they didn’t understand the motion and accidentally voted the wrong way.
Their MS Iain McIntosh later posted on X criticising the Welsh Tories for voting the same way he had, alongside a rather odd AI image of the First Minister in bed with Tory leader Darren Millar. He later said he had been referring to the previous amendment, which the Tories supported but Reform didn’t, but the wording of the two were nearly identical.
Sources tell us that that Reform’s chief whip Llyr Powell has contacted Reform MSs to “take ownership” of mistake. He told also them he would personally take responsibility for the error in the media. There is significant anger among some Reform MSs that he doesn’t seem to have done this.
And then there is the foreign funding faux pas:
On Tuesday evening in plenary Reform’s Louise Emery, responding to Culture Minister Heledd Fychan’s statement on culture spending, asked how the Welsh Government “can ensure there's no foreign interference” when it comes to funding news outlets.
Reform UK received £9m from donors in the first quarter of the year, the largest amount given to any political party in that period, with the largest single contribution coming from Thailand-based crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne who gave a £3m donation between January and March. Crypto magnate Ben Delo (who is based in Hong Kong) also donated £4m to Reform in two £2m lump sums in January and March.
There was widespread laughter in the Senedd after Ms Emery expressed her concern about foreign interference.
Far more seriously, Nation Cymru reports that the Senedd’s Presiding Officer is set to decide whether “dangerous and derogatory” remarks made by a Reform MS about asylum seekers amounted to a breach of the Welsh Parliament’s standing orders.
The news site says that During first minister’s questions on Wednesday (June 16) Joe Martin told the Chamber that supporters of the Welsh Government’s nation of sanctuary scheme oppose its abolition because no Ukrainian refugees have “beheaded people in the streets” yet:
“The same cannot be said for Sudanese asylum seekers,” he added.
Mr Martin cited the case of Stephen Ogilvie, who was the victim of an unprovoked knife attack in Belfast carried out by a Sudanese asylum seeker.
The Reform MS also referred to the case of Rhiannon Whyte, a young mother who was killed by a Sudanese asylum seeker who had been living at the same hotel where she worked.
Mr Martin went on to claim that Welsh Government ministers Mabon ap Gwynfor and Sioned Williams wanted Sudanese men that had raped British women to be welcomed to Wales.
During his speech, another Senedd Member could be heard calling out: “Are you a racist?”
Labour’s Shav Taj, a newly elected Member of Pakistani heritage, became visibly emotional as she branded Mr Martins comments “vile” and “disturbing”.
She also raised concerns about the tone of the language the Reform MS had used whilst children watched Senedd proceedings from the gallery above.
In a post to social media today, First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth shared a clip of Mr Martin speaking in the Chamber with a caption stating: “Reform is using inflammatory language that seeks to drive wedges between our communities.
“As First Minister, I will always stand up to racism.
“My government will always see to being people together in Wales, not deepen division.”
As Will Hayward says in his newsletter, 'it’s worth noting that if Reform are genuinely concerned about asylum seekers posing a threat to people in the UK, they they really should back the Nation of Sanctuary scheme. Key pillars of it include promoting Welsh culture and heritage as well as ensuring that refugees with severe mental health issues are supported.'
This exchange just underlines what a divisive, nasty piece of work Farage's Reform really are.
