Plaid Cymru Leader Rules Out Working With Reform In Any Way
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth in London, July 2024.
(Credit: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo)
4 min read
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has ruled out working with Reform UK in any way after the 2026 Welsh elections in which Nigel Farage's party is expected to do well.
With the introduction of a pure proportional representation voting system for Senedd elections, and the rise of both Plaid Cymru and Reform in the polls, some in Labour fear the party could be out of power in Cardiff next year.
The alternative to a Labour minority or Labour-led coalition could see a combination of Reform, Plaid Cymru and/or the Conservatives teaming up. But ap Iorwerth used an interview with PoliticsHome to rule out the possibility.
“We wouldn't work with Reform,” the Plaid Cymru leader said. “That really is not on the cards.”
“We're talking about sort of a worldview that is that is fundamentally different, and it's not just on the independence issue,” he added.
“When you look at Reform and their determination to push forward with essentially privatising the NHS, the introduction of a French-style insurance system, that runs contrary to principles that are very, very important to me and very, very important to Wales.”
Asked whether his ban on working with Reform would apply to every type of relationship from formal coalition to a confidence and supply agreement, ap Iorwerth replied: “Yes. I cannot see a way at all.”
Reacting to the comments, a Reform UK Wales spokesman said: “Reform UK Wales is a proud unionist party. We intend to beat nationalism at the ballot box next May, not work with them.”
In a YouGov survey of Welsh voters in November, Plaid Cymru topped the poll with 24 per cent, while Labour and Reform UK were each on 23 per cent. The Conservatives were on 19 per cent.
Commenting on his party's electoral prospects, ap Iorwerth said: “We can become the biggest party next year. It's on the cards. We know that. It's up to the people of Wales whether it happens. And then after that, we see how we make government work in Wales.”
He also accused Welsh Labour, led by First Minister Eluned Morgan, of an “entitlement” and of assuming that “Wales can only have one party in power”.
“We cannot afford as a nation to have a Welsh government that essentially prioritises keeping things steady for the Labour Party," he told PoliticsHome.
“Now, not only are they unwilling to stand up for Wales in challenging Keir Starmer, but they are defending the decisions taken by Keir Starmer on the winter fuel payment, on maintaining the two-child benefit cap, presumably on not including Wales at all in that major announcement by Rachel Reeves on investment,” he said.
“We're just not seeing the benefits. Labour used to agree with us on lots of things, like money owed to us for the HS2 investment in England, like on devolving the crown estate or having a new funding formula for Wales. Now that Labour is in power in Westminster, they’ve gone very, very quiet, and that's just no good for Wales.”
The Plaid Cymru leader denied that his own political ambition had shrunk from calling for Welsh independence to a list of demands for Wales, such as HS2 funds and devolving the crown estate.
“The fact that I'm not saying ‘let's have a referendum tomorrow’ doesn't say that I support independence less, but that I trust the people of Wales in wanting to engage with that discussion on how we can become more prosperous,” ap Iorwerth said.
“I do not believe that this is the best things can get for Wales. I have always believed, with every sinew in me, that we won't be able to reach and release our potential until we have the ability to behave like a normal nation. Nothing more, nothing less.
“We're not a particularly small nation. I don't think we're a particularly stupid nation. We're not a particularly poor nation. But we do have serious challenges that we need to address, and so far, we've tried to address them within the confines of the UK. There's a different way to do it.”
Asked whether he thought “small, stupid and poor” was how the rest of the UK sees Wales, the Plaid Cymru leader replied: “This is something that is clear that we have been conditioned to think in a particular way. ‘You can't be independent because you're too small.’
“It is implied we can't do it because ‘what's Wales got?’. I don't think of Wales as better than any other country. But when I look around Europe, and I see countries like ours, who are able to craft their future around their strengths, I want us to be able to do that.”
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