Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party, in June 2024 during his party’s general election manifesto launch in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales (Credit: Mark Hawkins/Alamy Live News)
3 min read
Reform UK is building its grassroots presence in Wales, where members are involved in community work including volunteering for local food banks, PoliticsHome has learnt.
The activity on the ground has made some Labour members nervous, amid fears that their party could be voted out of the Cardiff administration for the first time at the next Senedd elections in 2026.
“It’s like Brexit all over again, isn’t it? Kicking back against the system,” one Welsh Labour MP said.
“The Reform thing is real. We need to seriously, seriously, wake up to it.”
They predicted that in areas like Llanelli, south Wales, where Reform came just 1,500 votes behind Labour in July, “we are absolutely doomed”.
Reform UK does not yet have offices in Wales but the party says it now has members and a branch party set up in every constituency.
Reform members and branch officials have been making their presence felt in their local areas by helping food banks and getting involved in grassroots community work.
A Reform source said it served as a reminder that Nigel Farage’s party is not as economically right-wing as the Conservatives – having supported the abolition of the two-child benefit cap in the last general election, for example.
On Torfaen council, three former Independent councillors – ex-Labour David Thomas and Alan Slade, and ex-Conservative Jason O’Connell – defected to Reform in August 2024, forming the first Reform council group in Wales.
“Reform UK has seen a surge in grassroots support across Wales, positioning itself as a significant player in local politics and community engagement,” Thomas told PoliticsHome.
“The party’s focus on local issues, combined with a genuine commitment to community welfare, has been gaining traction.”
The Reform councillor leads the ‘Kindness in the Community’ food bank scheme, which he first started as an Independent.
He said: “The food bank has become a model of how political activism can translate into tangible community benefits, directly impacting the lives of many residents in Wales.
“Reform UK’s councillors and members have been instrumental in various community projects.
“From organising clean-up drives in their local communities to supporting local sports clubs with funding and resources, the party’s grassroots approach has resonated well.”
Thomas said local Reform UK members “have been noted for their hands-on approach” and that “active local governance suggests a promising future for the party at the grassroots level”.
Labour’s Anthony Hunt, the leader of Torfaen council, highlighted that food bank volunteering and other grassroots activities were taken up by elected members of every party.
“Councillors of all parties are working hard in their communities – from food banks to community groups to youth sports provision,” Hunt told PoliticsHome.
“My weekend will be taken up by trying to raise funds for a food bank this evening, running a junior sports club tomorrow morning and going to a fundraiser in the evening.”
When the three Independent councillors joined Reform last year, they received criticism from other members of their council.
Sue Malson, a Labour councillor at the time who has since resigned, compared Thomas to “Pinocchio”, saying: “For months and months you’ve tried your best to get back into the Labour Party… Then all of a sudden you’re Reform. Lies.”
A Barn Cymru poll carried out by YouGov for ITV Wales and Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre in November showed Plaid Cymru in the lead and Welsh Labour tying with Reform UK. The Conservatives were in fourth place.
Reform insiders believe the story of the night on 7 May 2026 – when both the Senedd and Holyrood are set to hold elections – will be Wales rather than Scotland if current polling stays true.
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