Reform UK Rally Goes Off the Rails in Newport as Speakers Belt Out Their Favourite Songs

Somewhere in the region of 500 burgundy seats, I'd wager, were laid out in the conference room at the ICC in Newport. They were there for the Reform UK members who had paid £5 to spend their Thursday morning - at short notice - to see Nigel Farage in Wales.

Such is the appeal of Reform UK that as 10am approached, the seats were almost all filled, and the 1990s dance music got louder. Then Nigel Farage came onto the stage, saying he had two announcements to make - once he'd taken aim at Keir Starmer's handling of the Peter Mandelson saga, that is.

The defection of James Evans, the former Tory Brecon and Radnorshire MS, felt almost inevitable after his expulsion from the Welsh Conservatives. Despite one of his former colleagues this week telling me he hoped there was a way back to the Tories, the signs were all there and then with a glossy video, the deal was announced.

The murmurings from those immediately behind us journalists weren't exactly deafening as his name was announced. However, by the end his speech, in which he criticised the media, Plaid Cymru and Labour, he had seemingly won them over.

Nigel Farage and his team have long batted off questions about when they will announce policies, candidates or leaders. Today he set out a timeline: Leader announced today, candidates in two weeks, and a manifesto in the first two weeks of March.

Of the 100 candidates they plan to put up, just three or four, he said will be ex-Conservatives. One of those will be the man named as the party's new leader in Wales today, former Barnet Council leader Dan Thomas.

Candidates have been put through their paces with media training at a day in London, with 00s talk show host turned TV pundit, Jeremy Kyle, as the person in charge of training them.

They've long faced criticism that the party is made up of a huge percentage of former Conservatives and they've long faced criticism that Wales isn't their priority.

By appointing, in Thomas, a man who has spent the last 20 years of his adult life as a councillor in London, who was a self-proclaimed lifelong Tory, they have given their opponents even more ammunition for the se accusations. Although it never seems to fluster Farage.

So what did we learn about Dan Thomas?

He's a Blackwood Comp student, who was a paperboy and an air cadet. He moved to London for work he said, and he's returned for his two young sons. When we asked what was top of his wishlist to solve, he answered education.

Nigel Farage said he has watched videos of his new deputy in a council chamber and he can handle himself, and knows he can handle a budget. He is, he said "up to it".

So what does the party's new leader in Wales believe in?

Britain - and Wales - being "broken" was repeated time and time again, by all three speakers.

Plaid Cymru was the main target, Labour too. The media were subject to a prolonged attack from James Evans - his anger and issues news to the many journalists in the room who know, speak to, and have booked him for media appearance he had never complained of.

Dan Thomas focused a section of his speech on immigration, honing in an example of a fight involving eight men with makeshift weapons on a Thursday afternoon.

"Plaid and Labour are living in denial when it comes to immigration," he said receiving loud claps.

"They say there's nothing to be concerned about because immigration is relatively low in Wales, and besides that, it's not a devolved matter. So let's not talk about it.

"Well, I can tell you the people of Wales are concerned about immigration and it's not to see why.

"This time last year, in the high street of my hometown, it was a violent fight between a dozen or so Iranian and Afghan young men in broad daylight.

"We've never seen anything like that before. It just didn't happen when I was growing up. Apparently it was a turf war between rival barber shops, but no one believes that they were really fighting over haircuts and they weren't certainly fighting over mine," he joked, referencing his bald head.

"These kinds of businesses are being used as fronts for illegal activity, and they're causing alarm and distress in once peaceful high streets.

"Just down the road, there was a car wash which was the centre of a people trafficking ring and then there's the number of increasing HMOs [homes of multiple occupancy] which are changing the character of our communities forever.

"HMOs are a symptom of the housing crisis, and one of the major causes of the housing crisis is uncontrolled immigration, which has a ripple effect across the UK.

"So ladies and gentlemen, when Labour and Plaid Cymru to you that you're not allowed to talk about immigration, when they try to shout you down by calling you a racist. Please know that they were wrong and they are out of touch."

There's been many questions about how a Welsh leader will fit in to Reform UK's structure, as few would argue the party is built around him, and both men were asked that, during the questions from journalists.

Mr Thomas said he wouldn't go into the conversations he'd had with Nigel Farage privately about his role as leader but when he was asked in different ways by different journalists how the pair would work together, Mr Farage said he wouldn't be micromanaging.

He said given the successes that Reform is going to have at English councils, in Scotland, and in Wales, even if he wanted to, he couldn't.

Decisions on devolved matters will be for the Welsh Reform team, Nigel Farage said. "When it comes to devolved matters, it's up Reform UK in Wales to make those decisions.

"The party here, under Dan, will have full autonomy," he said. A quote it may well be worth bookmarking.

A telling sign of the dynamic though was when they were asked if council reorganisation in Wales would be on the agenda.

"As this is a Welsh policy, I won't interfere or intervene in any way," said Mr Farage. "and I also won't expect Dan to have a full answer for it yet," he said.

Granted, that was not him interfering on Welsh policy, but it was a strong suggestion to the man on his left that he shouldn't answer.

We did get a first policy through - scrapping the default 20mph speed limit. Even if he did, under questioning from those pesky journalists, admit he has no idea what that would cost.

Asked what a man who has 20 years the other side of the border could know about Wales, Mr Thomas said he had stood her in 2010 and 2017, where on both occasions he came second to Labour in the then-Westminster seat of Islwyn. While he said he had kept "abreast" of politics here while in London, the way he handled questions about devolution suggest there is a little homework to do.

There was no real answer to how they will work out the many issues that straddle the devolved and reserved governments, except Mr Farage saying disagreements will be behind closed doors. Although to be fair to Reform UK, Labour hasn't worked out a way of dealing with that either.

Reform UK have intentionally or otherwise, waited to announce candidates and policies in Wales until the clock has reached 90-something days until polling day. Each time they have been asked about a leader, they have brushed it off with "soon". Today, the scrutiny of Dan Thomas and Reform UK (Wales) really begins.

My review? Those in the room lapped it up. Tellingly afterwards, once the live feeds stopped, there were people queuing up to go on stage.

No doubt some of those posing with Dan Thomas, or in front of the "Wales needs Reform" signs will be some of the almost 100 that the party will announce as candidates in a few weeks, and if the polling is to be believed, some of their first class of Senedd members.

These few hours in the ICC answered some of the many questions but there are an awful lot more to answer.