Reform understands nothing about Wales

When announcing the Reform manifesto today (Thursday, 5 March), Nigel Farage and Dan Thomas said the party intends to abolish the target of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050 because the language is “thriving,” which, according to Cymdeithas yr Iaith, shows that the party understands nothing about Wales.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith has expressed concerns over Reform’s “extremely dangerous” plans for the Welsh language and Welsh communities.

Additionally, there is uncertainty over the future of the Welsh Language Commissioner’s office under Reform’s leadership.

Owain Meirion, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith said:

“Considering that only 17.8% of Wales’ population can speak Welsh, and that the proportion of speakers has steadily declined over the last two censuses to the lowest figure ever, the fact that Nigel Farage believes Welsh is thriving shows his complete ignorance. Of course, Farage will not be a candidate in Wales nor accountable to the people of Wales.

“The only policy the party have regarding the Welsh language is to remove the target of a million speakers by 2050, thereby cutting the support that already exists for the language. Additionally, there is no mention of the Welsh language in any other section of the manifesto.

“It is clear that the party has no real interest in the Welsh language or our communities, and both would be in enormous danger under a Reform UK government.”