Get used to it. It's the 'new norm'
In the weeks since Wales's newly expanded Senedd convened, Reform UK — having leapt from near-irrelevance to holding a third of parliamentary seats — has introduced a turbulence that the chamber has rarely known. Inflammatory remarks about refugees drew tears from colleagues and walkouts from across party lines, while procedural confusion led some Reform members to vote against their own motions. The episode raises an ancient question in democratic life: whether a party that masters the art of disruption can also master the art of governance.
- A Reform MS drew a racialised distinction between Ukrainian and Sudanese refugees in the chamber, prompting a Labour colleague to break down in tears as she connected the rhetoric to her own family's immigration story.
- The following day, further inflammatory claims about Welsh students and Indian nurses triggered a coordinated walkout by Plaid Cymru, Labour, and Green members — yet Reform's chief whip dismissed the uproar as the 'new norm.'
- One third of Reform's own members voted in favour of a motion explicitly criticising their party's childcare record, suggesting some newly elected MSs do not yet understand basic parliamentary procedure.
- Reform is set to chair five Senedd committees, including climate change, where members who deny climate science will hold institutional power over policy — a collision course that observers are already calling 'ugly.'
- Analysts warn that Farage, who controls the party from Westminster, understands that sustained chaos in Wales could undermine his broader ambitions for national leadership, creating pressure to impose discipline from above.
Wales's newly expanded Senedd was meant to represent a fresh chapter — seventy new members, a historic end to a century of Labour dominance, and Plaid Cymru forming a minority government. Reform UK, having surged from 1% to 29% of the Welsh vote, arrived on the official opposition benches with momentum. What followed was something else entirely.
Within weeks, a Reform member for Caerdydd Penarth stood during first minister's questions and drew a distinction between Ukrainian and Sudanese refugees, implying the latter were prone to violent crime. The gallery fell silent. Labour MS Shav Taj, speaking next, struggled to hold her composure as she described her own parents' journey to Wales and what it meant to seek safety in a new country. The following day, the same member claimed Welsh students could not read and that Indian nurses were displacing Welsh workers. Members from three parties walked out. The presiding officer issued a rebuke. Reform's chief whip told the BBC he had heard nothing that crossed a line and that the chamber should simply get used to it.
The disorder was not only rhetorical. During a childcare debate, roughly a third of Reform's members voted in favour of a motion that explicitly stated their party had made no childcare commitments in its Welsh manifesto — effectively voting to criticise themselves. Political observers suspected the members had not understood what they were voting on.
The stakes ahead are considerable. Plaid Cymru's minority government will need cross-party support for a supplementary budget, and Reform has signalled no willingness to cooperate. The party will also chair five of the Senedd's thirteen committees, including the one covering climate change — a portfolio that sits uneasily with members who oppose net-zero targets or question climate science altogether.
Professor Laura McAllister of Cardiff University offered a sobering frame: Farage remains Reform's ultimate authority, and he is unlikely to be indifferent to the spectacle unfolding in Cardiff Bay. Winning populist insurgency is one thing; demonstrating the discipline required to govern is another. Whether Reform's Welsh chapter becomes a cautionary tale or a proving ground may depend on which lesson its leadership chooses to learn.
The Welsh parliament has been sitting for only a few weeks, but Reform UK has already turned the chamber into something unrecognizable. Tears have been shed. Members have walked out. The party has even voted against itself. What happened in May was supposed to be a coronation. Nigel Farage's Reform UK surged from 1% of the Welsh vote in 2021 to 29% in 2026, a result that dwarfed anything the Welsh Conservatives had ever achieved. The party won more than a third of the seats in the newly expanded Senedd. Farage had wanted Reform to become Wales's biggest party. Instead, Plaid Cymru won the election, ending a century of Labour rule. But with 70 new members across all parties and Reform holding the official opposition benches, the chamber was supposed to be a fresh start.
It has been anything but. Last week, during first minister's questions, Joe Martins, a Reform member for Caerdydd Penarth, stood to speak. He drew a distinction between Ukrainian and Sudanese refugees, suggesting that only the latter commit violent crimes. He asked the first minister what he would do to prevent "the next inevitable attack." The gallery fell silent. Shav Taj, a Labour member, was next to speak. She struggled to keep her composure as she talked about her own parents' immigration journey, about what it meant to come to Wales seeking safety. "To conflate the issue of immigration with the Nation of Sanctuary and some of the vile stuff we've just been hearing is actually really shocking," she said, her voice wavering.
Martins continued the next day. Welsh students cannot read, he claimed. Indian nurses are taking Welsh jobs. Members from Plaid Cymru, Labour, and the Greens walked out. The Senedd's presiding officer rebuked him. But Llŷr Powell, Reform's chief whip, was unmoved. "I didn't hear anything I thought went over the line," he told the BBC. "Get used to it. It's the 'new norm' are the words I use." Dan Thomas, Reform's Wales leader, defended the group's conduct as part of a healthy democracy, saying they were raising perspectives that had not been properly represented. Taj saw it differently. "The Senedd is a circus at the moment," she said. "It's clear they are after clickbait moments, for followers and shares."
But there is another problem emerging, one that suggests the party's new members may not yet understand how parliament works. In a debate on childcare, one-third of Reform's members voted in favor of a motion that explicitly stated "Reform UK had no commitments on childcare in its Welsh manifesto." They voted for a motion criticizing themselves. The political journalist Will Hayward suspected they simply did not understand what they were voting on. "I strongly suspect that the 11 who voted against their own party either didn't understand the motion or accidentally voted the wrong way," he said.
The real test is coming. Plaid Cymru's minority government will need at least one other party to support a supplementary budget next month. Reform has given no indication it will cooperate. The party will also chair five of the Senedd's 13 committees, including the one on climate change and the environment. One parliament source said that committee is expected to be "ugly," given that some Reform politicians deny climate change outright and the party opposes net zero targets. A Plaid member called Peredur Owen Griffiths, who has served since 2021, said the atmosphere in the chamber has fundamentally shifted. "What is unclear is whether they are struggling with the new expectations, or disregarding them," he said. "It will be worrying if this trend continues."
Laura McAllister, a professor of public policy at Cardiff University, offered a different perspective. Farage, she noted, is the ultimate decision maker for Reform, even though Thomas leads the group in the Senedd. Chaos and bad behavior do not play well, even with Reform's base, she said. "Whilst people are prepared to consider Reform as a populist insurgent party, having the keys to No 10 is completely different," McAllister said. "They have to convince people they have the discipline and the gravitas to operate properly, and if they can't do that in Wales, I think Farage understands that will impact on his chances." The party has already passed one motion, calling for a new statutory lobbying register, with cross-party support. But it has also tabled a debate on Wales' nation of sanctuary programme, a long-standing target of the right. The chamber is bracing itself. What comes next remains unclear, but the tone has been set.
Citações Notáveis
To conflate the issue of immigration with the Nation of Sanctuary and some of the vile stuff we've just been hearing is actually really shocking— Shav Taj, Labour MS
The Senedd is a circus at the moment. It's clear they are after clickbait moments, for followers and shares— Shav Taj, Labour MS
Chaos or bad behaviour in the Senedd doesn't sell well, even to the Reform base. They have to convince people they have the discipline and the gravitas to operate properly— Laura McAllister, Cardiff University professor of public policy
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did Reform's first weeks cause such a stir? It seems like they won a third of the seats.
They did win a third of the seats, which is enormous. But the issue is how they've used that platform. The comments about refugees, the suggestions about which groups commit crimes—that's not normal parliamentary discourse in Wales. It shocked people.
But isn't opposition supposed to challenge the consensus?
There's a difference between challenging consensus and making inflammatory claims about who is dangerous. Shav Taj, the Labour member, was in tears because Martins was essentially saying Sudanese refugees are violent. That's not an argument. That's a stereotype.
And then they voted against their own party?
Yes. A third of them voted for a motion that said Reform had no childcare commitments. They were voting for a statement criticizing themselves. It suggests many of the new members don't fully understand how parliament works yet.
Is that a sign they're not ready, or just inexperience?
Probably both. But there's a difference between being new and being reckless. The chief whip said people should "get used to" the inflammatory rhetoric. That's not inexperience talking. That's a choice about what kind of opposition they want to be.
What happens next?
The real test is the budget vote. Plaid Cymru needs at least one other party to support it. Reform has no incentive to cooperate right now. And they're chairing the climate committee, where some of their members deny climate change. That's going to be contentious.
Does Farage care about what happens in Wales?
Very much. If Reform looks chaotic and undisciplined in the Senedd, it undermines Farage's pitch for power at Westminster. He needs to show the party can govern, not just disrupt.