Western Mail Farage and co have spadework cut out

THERE has, at least in circles most concerned about the rise of Reform UK, been a belief or a fallback position that once the party has tasted actual power, the wheels would come off.

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A little like when Ukip arrived in the Senedd in 2016, the group rapidly went from the new kids on the block to the kids outside the headteacher's office. By the end of the five-year term, the gang was no more.

Labour, the Tories, and frankly, everyone else in Welsh politics, is hoping that Reform experiencing power in English councils or the presence of its MPs in Westminster will highlight to voters that they can't be trusted with power. They are crossing everything that will happen before voters go to the polls in May next year.