The Senedd election was historic. Labour were almost wiped out in Wales, and were driven out of some of their most important strongholds. The Labour First Minister even lost her seat.
Reform UK Wales came from nowhere to win 34 seats and finish a strong second to Plaid Cymru (43 seats). At the previous Senedd election in 2021, Reform UK achieved around 1% of the vote. Just five years later, we won 29.3% - far more than Labour and the Tories combined. By contrast it took Plaid 100 years to beat Labour.
We have all the momentum in Welsh politics. Reform UK is now the only serious opposition to the Plaid minority government. And in this new Senedd, opposition will be a serious business.
In the last Senedd, opposition parties were either propping up the Labour government through backroom deals, or letting them off the hook by infighting amongst themselves.
But when I sat down with my Senedd group of Reform MSs at Monday lunchtime, I knew that every single one of us was committed to making sure that the voice of common sense would be heard in the chamber in Cardiff Bay.
These are patriotic Welsh men and women who will use the trust put in them to ensure that extremist Plaid MSs cannot continue to ignore, marginalise and belittle the genuine concerns of Welsh people.
When Plaid politicians say that ordinary working people are out of order for having legitimate concerns about the level of immigration, we will be the voice of the reasonable majority.
And when Plaid tries to divert precious resources away from frontline services and towards the project of independence, we will lead the charge in making it clear that there is no mandate for breaking up the UK.
I will work across party lines to protect our union, and our public services, from a separatist party that wants nothing more than to make Wales an insular, impoverished country that picks fights with its best of friends.
I’m not here to defend Westminster. The Westminster consensus has been corrosive for the whole of the UK. That’s why we need Reform UK, right across the country. And while we may not form a government in Cardiff Bay this time, we will definitely break that cosy consensus.
I will vote with any party to put more resources into our public services, or to undo the damage Labour has done to our farming community. But we will not stand idly by and allow this Plaid administration to make us ashamed of our past. We will not sit on our hands, as the Tories did, and allow them to erode common sense just so that we don’t get a bad write up in the media.
In opposition, we will be the common-sense voice of this nation. And after 27 years of Labour and Plaid, common sense is needed more than ever.
While I see the huge responsibility of leading the opposition in Wales, I am also hungry for more. Our candidates and activists are hungry for more. And I know that next year, when every council seat in Wales is contested, the voters will be hungry for more Reform.
Reform UK Wales came from nowhere to win 34 seats and finish a strong second to Plaid Cymru (43 seats). At the previous Senedd election in 2021, Reform UK achieved around 1% of the vote. Just five years later, we won 29.3% - far more than Labour and the Tories combined. By contrast it took Plaid 100 years to beat Labour.
We have all the momentum in Welsh politics. Reform UK is now the only serious opposition to the Plaid minority government. And in this new Senedd, opposition will be a serious business.
In the last Senedd, opposition parties were either propping up the Labour government through backroom deals, or letting them off the hook by infighting amongst themselves.
But when I sat down with my Senedd group of Reform MSs at Monday lunchtime, I knew that every single one of us was committed to making sure that the voice of common sense would be heard in the chamber in Cardiff Bay.
These are patriotic Welsh men and women who will use the trust put in them to ensure that extremist Plaid MSs cannot continue to ignore, marginalise and belittle the genuine concerns of Welsh people.
When Plaid politicians say that ordinary working people are out of order for having legitimate concerns about the level of immigration, we will be the voice of the reasonable majority.
And when Plaid tries to divert precious resources away from frontline services and towards the project of independence, we will lead the charge in making it clear that there is no mandate for breaking up the UK.
I will work across party lines to protect our union, and our public services, from a separatist party that wants nothing more than to make Wales an insular, impoverished country that picks fights with its best of friends.
I’m not here to defend Westminster. The Westminster consensus has been corrosive for the whole of the UK. That’s why we need Reform UK, right across the country. And while we may not form a government in Cardiff Bay this time, we will definitely break that cosy consensus.
I will vote with any party to put more resources into our public services, or to undo the damage Labour has done to our farming community. But we will not stand idly by and allow this Plaid administration to make us ashamed of our past. We will not sit on our hands, as the Tories did, and allow them to erode common sense just so that we don’t get a bad write up in the media.
In opposition, we will be the common-sense voice of this nation. And after 27 years of Labour and Plaid, common sense is needed more than ever.
While I see the huge responsibility of leading the opposition in Wales, I am also hungry for more. Our candidates and activists are hungry for more. And I know that next year, when every council seat in Wales is contested, the voters will be hungry for more Reform.
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