Yahoo News We asked people why they are supporting Reform UK and they all said the same thing
On Friday, Reform UK held its "biggest ever" conference in Wales. The Celtic Manor resort hosted hundreds of the party's members, all there to learn more about the party and to hear speakers including Nigel Farage MP and Lee Anderson MP.
The party is on a roll in Wales. They had a great general election result, coming second in 13 of Wales' 36 constituencies, and the limited polling there is suggests they will win seats in the Senedd election in 2026. Read our interview with Nigel Farage here.
Mr Farage told WalesOnline that he expected his party to be Labour's main opposition here. He also said that from January 2026, five months out from the election, Wales would be his priority. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
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We asked people who had attended the conference why they were there and whether they would be supporting Reform UK at the next election, and many of those who answered said something similar - they were looking for "change".
'I wanted to see what they were like'
James from Bristol said he "didn't know much about the party" and wanted to know more. "I had heard bad accusations about them and wanted to judge for myself. I'm a liberal and I wanted to check if our values align," he said. Now wearing a rosette, he said he was "very pleased with the free market, free speech stance that Reform has taken".
He said: "I don't agree with everything but it's the most liberal so that's what I'll go with".
'I'm just fed up with the way Britain is going'
Veteran Andy Davies, originally from England, has lived in Wales since 1991 and was previously a Conservative voter. "I'm just fed up with the way Britain is going". "I had traditionally voted Conservative but the last government had a mandate to do the things that I voted for them to do and I think they left us in a worst position than I've ever known in my adult life."
He will, he said, "definitely" vote for Reform UK at the 2026 Senedd election. "I've lived in Wales since 1991, so I've lived here pretty much throughout devolution and I think Wales is being taken away from the Welsh people. I believe Reform UK might give Wales back to the Welsh people".
'I think they're the only people advocating for common sense politics'
Cameron Edwards is a Reform UK volunteer. He said it was a "great coming together of the people we're going to be campaigning with in the future". "I wanted to come here and meet some new faces and familiar faces and try assemble a team".
He will, he said, vote Reform in 2026. "I think they're the only people advocating for common sense politics". "Nowadays the parties interests are themselves and their friends on the gravy train and not the normal person."
It's the party's policies which are the attraction, he said. "I like Nigel as a person but it's the policies at the end of the day that matter."
'We believe in everything they're doing'
Linda said she was there to support Reform UK and give them funds. "We believe in everything they're doing". "It's the only solution for our country," she said. "They're making a change in politics, a change that's required, it's the quiet majority I feel".
'They have a common sense approach'
Colin, from Weston-super-Mare, said he was there to hear "some common sense speakers and to hear some good ideas". Previously a Ukip voter, before that he wasn't aligned to any party, he said. The appeal is a "common sense approach". "Not being so stupid, let's not waste money in the NHS, let's not waste money giving overpaid MPs expenses all the time, inflated expenses, why are we wasting our money? Why have we got a House of Lords where they can make more in a day just by turning up than I can in a week?"
Nigel Farage is, he said, "very good". "He's got the nerve to say what needs to be said."
