Farage confirms he won't be standing at Senedd election

Nigel Farage has confirmed he won’t be standing at the Senedd election next year, but told ITV Wales that he did think about it.

Rumours have been circulating for weeks that the Reform leader could stand as a candidate in order to take part in televised election debates.

In an interview on Sharp End, the Reform UK leader said: “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.”

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Defections

The MP for Clacton also hinted at defections to his party from Senedd members but said he wants to encourage new talent to come forward.

“I think one or two people might be interested, we'll see,” he said.

“To be honest with you, what I'm really interested in is finding talent that can come in from people who've probably never been in politics before but want to give. You have to have some experience in there, of course you do.

“But do you know what the problem is with politics in this country, right across the UK, it's become a career. It has become something you aspire to at university and what I want to see are people coming in from different walks of life.”

Andrew RT Davies previously ruled out defecting to Reform UK after stepping down as the leader of the Welsh Conservatives.

But the South Wales Central MS has views that align with Reform UK policies, including scrapping the default 20mph speed limit, support for Brexit and cutting ‘wasteful’ government spending.

“I've always found him a very interesting politician”, Mr Farage said, “and if he wants to have a chat over a cup of tea, I'd be happy to do it.”

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Labour slump

Last week a sensational poll by ITV Cymru Wales revealed that Labour support in Wales slumped to its lowest since the start of devolution. It also showed a large increase in Plaid Cymru’s vote share, which climbed to 30%, while support for Reform UK also continued to increase to 25%.

When asked how Reform UK could win over dissatisfied Labour voters who are considering a switch to Plaid Cymru, Mr Farage said: “What you'll find is a political class in Cardiff Bay pretty detached from the centre ground of public opinion and I honestly believe that one of the reasons you've seen Reform surge in the way that it has in Wales, in terms of membership, in terms of activists, in terms of polling numbers, is far from being the nasty party. We're actually reflecting what a majority of decent people think.”

Neither Plaid Cymru nor Reform are expected to win an outright majority so attention is turning to which parties would work together.

Nigel Farage has not ruled out working with the Welsh Conservatives, despite speaking out about being let down by the party in a previous General Election.

Refusing to confirm if he’d work with them or not, Mr Farage said: “The Conservatives might barely exist after next year's election… They might not have more than three or four seats.”

You cant watch the full interview with Nigel Farage on Sharp End, ITV Cymru Wales. It will also be available on ITVX and online here.