Reform UK Gains Support in Welsh Local Elections

Reform UK held a campaign rally in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales on Tuesday evening. Nigel Farage addressed a crowd of about 700 people in a shopping mall parking lot. He said he wanted to see Labour "smashed to smithereens" in elections held across Britain on Thursday.

The event featured stage smoke, campaign placards and music in an area that was once a stronghold for the Labour Party. Farage, a friend of President Donald Trump, leads Reform UK. Polls project the party will make gains in local races in England as well as in elections for the devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland.

A projection by the think tank More in Common on Monday showed Plaid Cymru at 30 percent, Reform UK at 27 percent and Labour at 16 percent for the Welsh Parliament election. The result will serve as a test of support for Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

It will also measure the appeal of Reform UK's platform of reduced immigration, opposition to green policies, tax cuts and plans to reindustrialize Britain. The South Wales Valleys are among the most economically deprived areas in Britain. In some parts, barely 7 in 10 working-age adults are employed and around a quarter are economically inactive.

Farage has visited the area 10 times in the past 12 months.

At the rally Farage mixed humor with criticism of wind turbines, mocked Starmer and promised to reduce hospital waiting times. The reception would once have been unlikely in the region, where Labour long held strong support. One attendee, Sam Lewis, 37, a carer from Merthyr, said her family used to vote Labour but she now supports Reform because of its promise of change and frequent visits to the area.

Another voter, Janis Casault, 73, a former Conservative from a nearby valley, said she changed her view of Farage after watching him in debates. She rejected accusations of bigotry directed at the party. Reform UK has denied such characterizations.

The area was once defined by coal mining and strong Labour support. Most mines closed by the 1990s. Factories that replaced them, including those run by companies such as Hoover, Burberry, Ford and Panasonic, have also largely closed. Redevelopment has occurred but has not fully replaced the lost industrial base.

Labour activists have reported encountering voters willing to try other parties. Most parties have said they will not work with Reform UK, making it unlikely the party will enter government despite potential seat gains. A politics professor at Cardiff University described the projected outcome as a political revolution in Wales.

Reform UK was founded in 2018. Becoming one of the largest parties in the Welsh Parliament would mark a significant shift in the region's politics.