Reform Wales claims scrutiny wins in first year as Senedd opposition urges members to lobby on spending

Reform UK’s Senedd group says it has used its position as an opposition party to force concessions from the Welsh Government on spending and policy since May’s Senedd election, in which the party won more than a third of the available seats.

In a newsletter to supporters, the party’s Shadow Minister for Finance and Government Efficiency said Reform Members had scrutinised the recent Plaid Cymru budget, contributing to what was described as a historic defeat for the plan. The newsletter also pointed to Welsh Government funding for organisations linked to asylum support — including a grant reported at over £800,000 to a charity connected to the government’s “Nation of Sanctuary” programme — as an example of what it called “woeful spending decisions.”

The Nation of Sanctuary policy is the Welsh Government’s long-standing commitment to supporting refugees and people seeking asylum in Wales; funding for asylum support in the UK typically involves both Home Office and devolved administration budgets, and the Welsh Government has previously defended the programme as part of its integration and community-cohesion strategy. Reform’s newsletter did not set out the funding breakdown for the grant it criticised.

The party also claimed credit for prompting a Welsh Government rethink on tourism policy after a Senedd debate, and highlighted a walkout by Plaid Cymru, Labour and Green Members during a Reform speech on international spending. On collaboration, the newsletter cited cross-party support for tougher bovine TB measures and for a proposed register of lobbyists operating in the Senedd.

The email closed with a call for Reform supporters to respond to the Senedd Finance Committee’s public consultation on Welsh Government spending, suggesting responses that call for an end to international spending and to Nation of Sanctuary funding, the removal of “DEI non-jobs” from the public sector, and cuts to income tax and business rates.

This report is based on a Reform UK Wales newsletter

Welsh money should be spent in Wales. End all international spending.
Prioritise spending for the people of Wales. End spending on the Nation of Sanctuary.
End Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) non-jobs in the public sector. Prioritise spending on front-line services, not divisive identity politics.
Encourage businesses to thrive and reward hard-working people. Cut rates of income tax and review the damaging business rates system.