Nigel Farage attacks Welsh Labour at Merthyr Tydfil rally — Itv News
itv news reports Nigel Farage told Reform UK supporters at the party’s final Welsh campaign rally in Merthyr Tydfil on Tuesday that Wales has become a “basket case” after 27 years of Welsh Labour government. He used the Trago Mills car park gathering to press the case for the 7 May Senedd election.
Farage said: “Under 27 years of bad government, Wales has become a basket case - there's no doubt about it. Poorly led, idiotic policies.” He also told the crowd: “What is about to happen here is that the party that has been able to take Wales for granted for over 100 years on Thursday will deservedly get smashed to smithereens by the electorate.”
Merthyr Tydfil rally
The Merthyr Tydfil rally was the last Welsh campaign event for Reform before voters go to the polls on 7 May. Dan Thomas joined Farage at the event and said Welsh voters could give Reform a majority in the election.
Thomas also said he “absolutely” agreed with Reform home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf about prioritising Green-controlled areas for migrant detention centres under a Reform UK government. That gives the rally a practical edge beyond the election speech: Reform was not only attacking Welsh Labour, but also laying out how it would use power if voters backed it.
Plaid Cymru and Reform
Farage also turned directly on Plaid Cymru, saying its candidates were “political apparatchiks,” “hard leftists” and “frankly just plain anti-English.” He said: “Don't believe what you're being told” when addressing opinion polls, and compared polls that suggested a Plaid Cymru victory with predictions that Remain would win the Brexit referendum.
A latest YouGov poll on Tuesday put Plaid Cymru slightly ahead of Reform. Recent polls have suggested either Reform or Plaid Cymru could emerge as the biggest party in Wales' parliament after the election, which would be an unusual outcome in a contest long dominated by Welsh Labour.
Welsh Labour’s record
Farage said Wales would not get change if it voted Plaid, and alleged that very few Plaid Cymru candidates had “ever had a proper job or a real life in the community.” His attack was aimed at both the governing party he blames for Wales’ condition and the main challenger he says should not be trusted to replace it.
For voters in Wales, the immediate issue is whether that late-stage pitch shifts the race at all. The final message from Reform was clear: reject Welsh Labour, dismiss the polling, and decide whether Reform or Plaid Cymru can come out ahead on 7 May.
