Reform UK wins Ynys Môn by-election

Not entirely surprised by this result. The Caergybi/Holyhead area seems to have become Reform UK central (along with Llanelli). If those two places were typical of Cymru as a whole, then we really will be in the sh*t!!

Despite the polls, if I was a betting man I would put money on Reform at least winning the most votes and seats in May. This is not a good result for Plaid. Once more this also shows the Green vote is not anywhere near the hype. Like it or not Rhun ap Iorwerth needs to come up with a compelling responses to things like 20mph, the M4 relief road and immigration (not say there is no such thing as illegal immigration). More than just mumbling non answers.

I would imagine the vote is due to incomers just being disrespectful and having their neighbours. Unfortunately it's acceptable for Britcims to come here and destroy our country.

KEEP THE FILTH OF RACISM OUT OF WALES

Who owns the 'free port' of Holyhead, have a walk round, lots to commend but in need of millions, if only one could prise it out of the Senedd's fingers...

Reform UK is a Limited Company masquerading as an undemocratic political party – an extreme right-wing English Nationalist party. It has a self-appointed leader, Nigel Farage, who effectively makes all the important decisions such as selecting Dan Thomas as his puppet leader in Wales. At the Reform Party rally in Newport on 5/2/2026, recent Tory defector to Reform, James Evans MS, said “Wales is broken and Wales needs Reform”. What nonsense – Wales needs Reform like a hole in the head. It is amazing that so many people in Ynys Gybi by-election were duped to vote for them.   

Ynys Gybi includes Rhoscolyn rapidly morphing into a holiday and retirement village. It also boasts the residential abode of Jake Berry the former Conservative MP and northern powerhouse minister. From Lancashire, a big cheese who defected to Reform after losing his seat. Celfyn Furlong himself is a former Conservative. He already sits on the community council on the main island at Llanfihangel-yn-Nhywyn the road to RAF Valley, where he lives. This result is indictive of the cultural and demographic changes in such locations.

Damned disgusting result for.our Wales,we do not need fascists in our gov any where.

Exactly like a Reform supporter hopefully. That's kind of the point of using ironic humour though right?

Everyone is welcome, but if they're spreading the cancer of racism they should show some respect and leave it at the border.

He is not going to work for locals, his is going to do what farage says.

Trumpian English Nationalism raises its flag upon Ynys Mon. Sadly, there'll be other instances before people - hopefully - will one day wake up and see through the bigoted grifters.

"A massive majority despite a low turnout", I quote Reform Bangor Aberconwy & Mon FB page. Any astute political activist will spot the key phrases here. Plaid put in a young unknown candidate to take on the mantle of a leviathan of Anglesey political life. More to the point, I can see Ynys Gybi from my window and I had no idea this by-election was taking place. Second-homers can vote in local elections so Reform and Mrs Crosbie's former sidekick and gentleman farmer Celfyn Furlong were smart and subtle in getting their vote out. Not sure where the information comes from for YM being Reform Central - that would be Conwy in North Wales - but we did suffer Nathan Gill for many years and UKIP / Reform could muster a regular 6,000 votes. Let this be a warning to Plaid.

Ynys Gybi is Holy Island less Holyhead Town, it is not "the people of Ynys Mon" but yes, we do have a problem that needs serious attention before May 7

It is clearly shorthand for "british criminals" but there is a missing letter. "Having" should obviously read "hating". It is not considered good etiquette to criticise typos, which are sadly all too common in these days of predictive text. having said that, I wish people would not be lazy, and avoid unnecessary contractions. I also wish they would scan their posts for both grammatical mistakes and loose or ambiguous meaning, before posting.

Unfortunately that is true, we have our share of bigots and morons, though hopefully not as a larger percentage of the population as seems to be the case in england.

Britcims is one of the terms that certain groups of Brits have earnt by playing the victim so well. See also the victim mindset that is standard for those of a racist persuasion.

I suspect Mr Furlong is really a Tory,I come to this conclusion due to the respectful way be speaks of Trevor Lloyd Hughes unlike most Reform politicians who seem to think that ererything before them is rubbish.

They do indeed. Because they're just as stupid, ignorant, and thoroughly uninformed like you.

An act of self-harm. Will they ever learn. Those voters on Ynys Mon who chose an English imperialist will regret their decision.

My experience too.

What is the record of the Plaid-led council? I genuinely don't know. If it's not great, everyone has run out of patience with people in office who don't deliver the goods, no matter who they are and who the party is. As I say, I genuinely don't know how good this Council has been but I'd like to know before I place a bet about what's going on. And then I'd need to know the demographics of the ward and who voted. To be clear: I dread Reform; I'm just strongly attached to evidence.

The easiest job politics is the office of opposition. Labour have found that out. If Reform get into power, (unfortunately it looks like it) lets see how this shower handle the levers of government. Just maybe, Farage might be held to account over the shambles of Brexit.

Hope this result, focus minds in Plaid, still a lot of work to do .Only one poll matters.

Funny old ward with discontnted deprived areas and second homeland Strong local canddiate too Expect some of the Cheshire set who have designated ther holiday home as main residence voted Reform They do this to avoid the punitive council tax charges

Five years from now we'll be saying "Reform who?" just like we say "UKIP who?" today

Why wouldn't 'welsh' people vote reform? Unfortunately they've got big support in Wales

Dyma rybudd nad oes wiw i ni ymlacio am eiliad.

The hard fact is that there's at least a fundamental truth to the old adage that 'the voters are never wrong'. In the light of that, the most sensible and pragmatic critical reaction to a verdict delivered by them is the one offered decades ago by a long dead and forgotten US politicians: 'The people have spoken - the b*st*rds!'

Party that lied about Brexit. Made Holyhead poorer. National party leader is pals with a racist insurrectionist rapist. And many did not bother to vote.

I think the eagerness from some to blame English immigrants is an issue. Reform’s biggest votes in May are likely to come from Welsh areas with far lower than average English immigration. The same was true for Brexit. The report by Professor Danny Dorling is often dragged up, and in these comments too. However, his report was based on retirees moving to Wales, and Welsh speaking areas voting Remain. He didn’t then do further research into those areas. He failed to consider several key points. 1 - There were not so many areas of Wales which voted Remain. The major ones, Dwyfor Meirionnydd, Arfon, Ceredigion, Cardiff Central, Monmouth have higher - usually far, far higher - percentages of people born in England than the Wales average. Ceredigion is 37% English born, Monmouth 35%, Gwynedd 27%… compared to 21% average. 2 - Many of the valleys areas, where the Brexit vote was highest, have far below average English %. Eg Blaenau Gwent was Wales’ highest Brexit vote at 62%, but their England born number is 8.4%, way below average. Same is true for neighbouring areas. 3 - Those who had managed to build a life so they could retire to a place they loved are naturally wealthier than average. The wealthier people were, and the more educated, dropped the likeliness of them voting Brexit. Dorling focused on age and Welsh speaking areas and largely left it there. His research was poor, off the cuff even, but has influenced a ‘blame the English’ narrative in Welsh politics since. Without realising that isn’t the case, and indeed that the Brexit % may have been higher without those immigrants, it made tackling the real reasons for such voting tendencies (Brexit/Reform) harder. In May, Blaenau and similar are likely to highly vote Reform despite having a relatively negligible English population. Blaming incomers is as absurd as many of Reform’s slants, and indeed in many ways a mirror of them.