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Reform MS Sarah Cooper-Lesadd has defected to Plaid Cymru

Tuesday, 15 September 2026 17:24

Reform MS for Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg, Sarah Cooper-Lesadd, has announced her defection to Plaid Cymru.

The news was confirmed in a statement in which she slammed Reform UK for having "no interest in the work I came here to do"

Cooper-Lesadd's defection was approved by Plaid's Senedd group and national executive on Tuesday afternoon.

It leaves Reform UK with 33 members in the Senedd, whilst the Plaid Cymru group increases to 44, five short of an overall majority.

In response to those who voted for Reform back in May, Cooper-Lesadd said, "I have not stopped listening to you. You told me you felt ignored and let down. Those concerns are real, and they will be answered by delivery, not division."

 

In a full statement released on Tuesday, Sarah Cooper-Lesadd said, "Today I have left Reform UK and joined Plaid Cymru and its Senedd group.

“I grew up in the care system. I stood for the Senedd to be a voice for care-experienced people, who are still badly under-represented in our politics. I want to improve people’s lives, stand up for people who are overlooked and get things done. My approach is evidence-led and rooted in what works for our communities.

“Reform has no interest in the work I came here to do. They are not serious about governing Wales. They are far more interested in division, opposition and headlines than in finding solutions. There is a real appetite in the group to want the government to fail, and no interest in what that failure would mean for the people we represent.

“They oppose measures without any coherent explanation. I wanted to vote for the supplementary budget, which every party should have supported, and I argued against tabling the Nation of Sanctuary debate, and I was criticised for sitting it out. Having just spoken about my own childhood trauma, I could not in good conscience sit through it.

“I cannot support Reform's attacks on people seeking sanctuary or other vulnerable groups. I particularly reject the way minorities have too often been used as political targets. I do not believe anyone should be scapegoated or dehumanised to win votes, and I will not be part of a politics that does that.

“The party centrally has no interest in Wales. Their Senedd group is a staging post in the effort to get Nigel Farage into Downing Street, and that was glaringly obvious at its conference this week.

“To everyone who voted Reform in May: I have not stopped listening to you. You told me you felt ignored and let down. Those concerns are real, and they will be answered by delivery, not division.

“Wales is a small country with enormous potential. Devolution is how that potential is realised, with decisions made closer to the people they affect.

"I believe in a Wales that is confident, compassionate and ambitious. A Wales that uses the powers it has to improve people’s lives and seeks the powers it still needs.

"Plaid is serious about governing, serious about delivery and serious about Wales. It is a party that believes in our communities and believes Wales can do more when decisions are made closer to the people they affect.

“I know what I am asking of Plaid members who spent May campaigning against the party I stood for, and I will work to earn their trust.

“I came into politics to give people a voice, improve lives and get things done, including for every child growing up in care in Wales today. Plaid Cymru is the best place for me to do that, and I am ready to get to work."

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