Farage rules out standing in Senedd election

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he will not be a candidate in next year's Senedd elections, and has no long term plan to lead the party in Wales.

The MP for Clacton, in Essex, said he would lead Reform into the campaign for next May's poll until a Welsh leader has been chosen to take over.

Asked if he wanted to lead the party in Wales, he said: "I'm not Welsh, so it's not going to be me."

Under the Welsh Parliament's rules, an MP would have to stand down from the UK Parliament if they were to become a Member of the Senedd (MS).

Speaking to ITV Cymru's Sharp End programme, the Reform leader said the goal was to win the most seats in next May's election to the Welsh Parliament.

Recent polls have shown Labour, Plaid Cymru and Reform to be neck and neck, with one last week suggesting Plaid Cymru were pulling ahead, and Farage's party leap-frogging Labour into second place.

Pundits have suggested that Reform's success was largely from Conservative supporters shifting their vote, but Farage told ITV Cymru Wales that his party was hoping to bring across Labour voters too.

"I've got evidence from strong Labour areas in England that on 1 May what happened was people were motivated to go out and vote Reform, turnouts were higher than people thought they were going to be.

"What we have to do in Wales is to say to people, if you really, really want change, you've got to vote for that change, and it's up to us to articulate clearly what that vision is."

He added: "The national elections in Wales are our priority.

"We intend to come first... we're going to fight to win."

Reform UK currently does not have a leader in Wales and has no members in the Senedd.

When asked if he would be a candidate for the Senedd elections and potential first minister, Farage ruled that out: "I'm not Welsh so it's not going to be me, all right? We are a very, very new party."

Farage said he would initially lead the election campaign, saying he would "kick it off absolutely".

Asked if he would be a candidate in the election so that he could be allowed to take part in televised election debates, Farage said: "No, I don't intend to do that, that would be playing the game in the most cynical way and I'm not going to do it."

Voters will go to the polls for the Senedd elections on 7 May 2026, when the number of MSs will be expanded from 60 to 96.

There will be 16 constituencies each electing 6 MSs.

It is thought that the new voting system will see Reform MSs elected for the first time to the Welsh Parliament.