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Welsh politics should be led by “real-world” representatives making “common-sense” decisions, according to Dan Thomas, Reform UK’s lead candidate for the Casnewydd Islwyn constituency.

Reform is hoping to cause a shockwave in the Senedd elections, and recent opinion polls suggest it is in a close battle with Plaid Cymru.

Mr Thomas, who became Reform’s Welsh leader earlier this year, said the party will cut waste, revive high streets and improve the nation’s infrastructure if it wins the election.

He said conversations with voters prove there is “an appetite for change”, and he believes his party benefits from being a relative newcomer.

“We’ve never been in coalition with Labour before, unlike Plaid Cymru,” he said. “Only Reform is offering genuine change and ambitious leadership for Wales.”

His party plans to “start building roads again” and “put money back into people’s pockets by reducing tax slightly, but by being responsible with the finances”.

There will be a new approach to running the public sector, “because for too long, failure has been tolerated”.

Critics have long warned the future of the NHS would be in jeopardy under Reform, but Mr Thomas dismissed suggestions Reform would privatise the health service, calling them a “desperate lie”.

He said any problem with the Welsh NHS is “not a funding issue… it’s a leadership and management issue”, and added there were “too many” health boards.

The NHS’ future “will be safe in our hands”, he insisted, and added Reform would “make a point” of listening to frontline staff who he doesn’t feel are “consulted enough” on policy.

The most recent NHS performance figures show waiting lists have reduced slightly in a succession of months, but the Reform candidate said this was “too late” for incumbents Welsh Labour.

“They’ve been running the NHS for 27 years – I think they’ve had long enough,” he said.

Turning to matters in the Casnewydd Islwyn constituency, Mr Thomas said that if he is elected, he would prioritise support for “struggling” high streets – including cutting business rates for the hospitality sector.

He calls the M4 Wales’ “main artery” and said he backs the revival of the relief road project.

Since July 2024, Welsh ministers have talked up the benefits of having Labour in charge in both the Senedd and Westminster – so could a change in Wales mean friction returns?

“We want a constructive relationship with whoever is in government in Westminster,” said Mr Thomas. “We believe the Welsh Government should focus on Welsh issues and be realistic about the amount of money we’re going to get from Westminster, which by the way is a lot more than what England receives.”

He described Wales’ funding deal as “fair” but said he would “of course be open to speaking to Westminster about projects such as the M4 relief road, which will help the UK’s economy overall”.

Before joining Reform, Mr Thomas spent nearly two decades on Barnet Council – including a three-year stint as its leader – representing the Conservatives. He also stood for the Tories in Islwyn during two general elections.

His old Conservative links are far from unusual in Reform – which has attracted former UK Government ministers Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman. In the last Senedd term, its two MSs were both Conservative defectors.

Mr Thomas rejects claims Reform is a party for former Tories, however.

“Across Wales, we have 96 candidates and the vast majority of them have never stood for any political party in the past,” he said. “They’re drawn from all walks of life, they work in the real world, they’re going to bring real-world experience into the Senedd.”

That makes Reform different from other candidates who have spent their whole careers in politics, he claimed, adding: “That’s why they’re making unpopular decisions, because they don’t understand the real world beyond Cardiff.”

But Reform has been hit with a few headaches in the build up to the Senedd elections, with some candidates quitting over the party’s selection processes, and one candidate stepping down after a controversial photograph came to light, appearing to show him performing a Nazi salute – the candidate said he had been imitating Basil Fawlty.

Mr Thomas said he had expected “one or two” candidates to be “disgruntled” by the selection process but “the vast majority have accepted their position very happily”.

He added: “We’ve only had one candidate step down due to a vetting related issue, so I think that’s been a really good success rate.”

Dan Thomas’ pitch to the voters of Casnewydd Islwyn

“Reform is the only party of change, offering genuine change and new ambitious leadership for Wales, whereas Plaid Cymru have been Labour’s puppets for the last 27 years. They’re not offering real change, and their drive for independence will divide Wales. Reform will unite Wales through its common-sense policies and its overriding principle of putting the people of Wales first, so if you want real change and ambitious fresh leadership, vote Reform.”

Full list of candidates in Casnewydd Islwyn

Welsh Conservatives (six candidates)

• 1. Natasha Asghar
• 2. Toby Jones
• 3. Jake Enea
• 4. Georgie Webb
• 5. Adam Morris
• 6. Rebecca Mamhende

Green Party (six candidates)

• 1. Lauren James
• 2. Philip Davies
• 3. Zaynab Greengrass
• 4. Kerry Vosper
• 5. David Mayer
• 6. Andrew Were

Heritage Party (one candidate)

• 1. Mike Ford

Open Party (two candidates)

• 1. Justna Muhith
• 2. John Horan

Plaid Cymru (six candidates)

• 1. Peredur Owen Griffiths
• 2. Lyn Ackerman
• 3. Rhys Mills
• 4. Joshua Rawcliffe
• 5. Jonathan Clark
• 6. Sarah Henton

Reform UK (six candidates)

• 1. Dan Thomas
• 2. Art Wright
• 3. Marie-Claire Lea
• 4. Nick Jones
• 5. Rebecca Senior
• 6. Tomos Llewelyn

Welsh Labour (seven candidates)

• 1. Jayne Bryant
• 2. Rhianon Passmore
• 3. Chris Carter
• 4. Rhian Howells
• 5. Julie Sangani
• 6. Stephen Marshall
• 7. David Chinnick

Welsh Liberal Democrats (six candidates)

• 1. Mike Hamilton
• 2. John Miller
• 3. Nurul Islam
• 4. Harun Rashid
• 5. Mary Lloyd
• 6. Jeff Evans

Individual candidates (one)

• Taran Clayton