Sarah Pochin

Reform UK is seeking to field a full slate of candidates across Wales' 16 new Senedd constituencies, requiring a large number of credible candidates who can articulate the party's message in local media and campaign events. Pochin is among those actively seeking selection.

Pochin exemplifies the paradox at the heart of Reform's Welsh strategy: campaigning to enter an institution that the party's rhetoric consistently frames as failing, wasteful, and out of touch. This is the same paradox that UKIP experienced with the European Parliament — using the institution as a platform to attack it from within. Pochin's campaign messaging focuses on the gap between the Senedd's growing cost (the expansion to 96 members, the new electoral system) and its perceived lack of delivery for ordinary Welsh people. By framing herself as someone who will bring accountability rather than comfort to Cardiff Bay, she channels the populist energy of voters who want to punish the political establishment without necessarily abolishing the institution. Her candidacy illustrates Reform's settled approach to the 2026 election: use anti-Senedd rhetoric to win seats, then use those seats as platforms for further criticism and as stepping stones toward UK-wide political ambitions.