Welsh Reform councillor mocked after 'car crash' interview

Emily Price 

A Conservative Senedd Member has ripped into a Reform councillor after a "car crash" interview discussing what Nigel Farage's party can offer Wales.

Torfaen Councillor David Thomas was mocked by Shadow Counsel General Tom Giffard after he appeared to stumble over answers during a recent BBC Radio Wales Breakfast interview.

Thomas - a former Labour member who represents the Cwmbran ward of Llantarnam - was one of three independent councillors that formed Reform UK's first council group in August last year.

He has since become a prominent figure within the party - although he told Nation.Cymru he is not planning to stand at the upcoming Senedd election.

Thomas - who had a key role in Reform's recent Runcorn and Helsby by-election win, also told us he is undecided on whether he will stand again at the next Welsh local election set to take place in May 2027.

We asked, if this were the case, why did he appear on the BBC radio programme, to which he replied: "I was the only one available."

[mid-content-banner]

'Painful'

During the "painful" exchange with BBC presenter James Williams on Wednesday (May 7), the Reform politician was pressed to give details of what his party will offer Welsh voters at the 2026 election.

It came after a new YouGov poll for ITV Cymru Wales and Cardiff University revealed that support for Labour has slumped to its lowest since the start of devolution.

The poll predicted a large increase in Plaid Cymru's vote share whilst Reform support is also expected to surge with the new proportional voting system making it easier for the party to gain more seats in Wales than they did at the general election.

Reform UK doesn't yet have an official Welsh leader and is currently fronted by Clacton MP Nigel Farage.

In the Senedd last week, First Minister Eluned Morgan accused Reform of offering only "simplistic responses" and "no real answer to Wales' problems."

The BBC asked David Thomas what he made of the FM's comments

Speaking on Radio Wales Breakfast, he said: "Simplistic answers? Well it's quite simple really. It's all about cutting the waste within the Senedd and our way forward for the party and the future of Wales is cutting waste within local government, within local councils..."

Presenter James Williams interrupted the Reform councillor asking him to explain what he meant by "waste".

Thomas responded: "Well, procurement. The way councils are run. Where they are buying their stuff for the councils, the way they are employing different contractors.

"We are going to radically go through how councils operate and where they spend their money. When councils say to you, they haven't got any money - that's not true.

"Councils always have money, it's just where they choose to spend that money. And this is something our party is going to be looking at, and will solve the problem going forward, giving people what they want."

[lower-mid-content-banner]

Cuts

Thomas was also quizzed on Nigel Farage's pledge to cut income tax in every bracket by one or two pence if his party wins the next general election,

Asked what difference a 2p cut across the board would make to the Welsh coffers, the Reform councillor appeared unable to answer the question.

He said: "Once we go through and put on display all our policies moving forward for the Senedd election, you will see exactly how we plan to do what we are saying we are going to do to put money back into peoples pockets."

On turning around the Welsh NHS - arguably the number one priority for voters - Thomas said his party would "reform every department in the NHS".

He said: "We will be looking to go through every single department and clearing out the waste, sorting out the procurement there and ensuring that the NHS is running, you know, in a much more efficient way than it is now."

'Painful'

Sharing a clip of the interview on social media, South Wales West MS Tom Giffard branded it a "car crash".

Speaking to Nation.Cymru, he said: "Reform in Wales simply haven’t got a clue. Listening to one of their most prominent candidates try to answer detailed and specific questions was painful listening.

"It is becoming clearer by the day that as much as Reform are able to point out problems and shout slogans, they don’t have a single plan about what they’d actually do if they got any power in Wales.

"There’s no doubt that after 26 years of a Welsh Labour Government that Wales needs change. But people considering voting for Reform will start to ask themselves how long they’re willing to tolerate a party without a single solution to deliver it.

"Meanwhile, the Welsh Conservatives are setting out our plan to Fix Wales. Last week alone, we detailed our proposals for a 1% cut in income tax for people across Wales and scrapping business rates completely for small businesses, to give our economy the turbocharge it needs."

Responding to the Tory's comments, David Thomas said: "Tom Giffard represents a party that was in power in Westminster for 14 years and what do we have to show for it? Stagnant growth, high taxes, crumbling public services, and a failure to stand up to Labour’s failures in Wales.

"The Welsh Conservatives have had more than a decade to hold Labour to account in Cardiff Bay and they’ve failed. Now they want people to believe they’ve suddenly found the answers. Voters aren’t buying it.

"While the Conservatives cling to reheated ideas, Reform UK is building a bold, credible plan for real change. In the months ahead, we’ll be unveiling ambitious policies to fix the problems facing our communities from restoring common sense in public life to delivering economic growth and putting Welsh people first.

"Wales is broken, not just by Labour’s incompetence, but by a weak Conservative opposition too. Wales needs Reform."

Tirade

Thomas later launched an online tirade against the Welsh Conservative Senedd Member accusing him of "doing what the Tories do best, lying to the public."

Hitting back, Giffard posted several news articles featuring Thomas including claims that the councillor had cut the ribbon of a new Lidl supermarket despite not being invited to do so, and an allegation that he had attempted to rejoin the Labour Party before joining Reform.

Alongside the screen grabs, Giffard said: "Imagine being accused of dishonesty by this bloke."

Thomas responded saying all the news stories were a "pack of lies".