Reform UK makes dramatic first impression in Senedd opposition role

With more than a third of Welsh parliament seats, Reform MSs have caused tears and walkouts – and voted against their own party

Tears, walkouts, own-goal votes: the Welsh parliament has only been sitting for a few weeks, but Reform UK has already made a dramatic first impression in its new role as the official Senedd opposition.

Plaid Cymru won May’s historic Welsh elections, ending 100 years of Labour dominance and blocking the momentum of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which came second. He had been aiming for it to become Wales’s biggest party but it still performed better than any Welsh Conservative result on record, and increased its vote share from 1% in 2021 to 29% in 2026.