Patrick Benham-Crosswell had been placed fifth on Reform’s list of candidates for the Gŵyr Abertawe seat – Image: Facebook
Emily Price
Reform UK has been accused of “betraying” its own members by a Senedd candidate who has quit the party ahead of the election.
Patrick Benham-Crosswell had been placed fifth on the party’s list of candidates for the Gŵyr Abertawe seat.
In a statement published to his Facebook account on Saturday (March 28) Benham-Crosswell said Reform had “sunk deep into the sewer” and complained that he had been ranked fifth “to an ex-Tory”.
He wrote: “Having been an active member of Reform since it was founded, and the Brexit Party before that, it is with some sadness that I resign. In truth, Reform has left me.
“The party I joined and helped build had a clear vision of how to solve our country’s problems: better politicians who care more about the people they serve than their careers.
“That’s how we fought the 2024 general election, winning 14.3% of the vote across the UK. In Swansea, I came in second, with 17.5% of the vote.
“The ‘professionalisation’ of the party has led it to take its members and candidates for granted.
“Communications that once began ‘Thank you’ now more often start ‘You are required to…’
“The party’s employees in Millbank forget that branch officers and candidates are unpaid volunteers.
“Some will call my resignation petulance or sour grapes at my lowly placing on the list (fifth to an ex-Tory on the make and three novices).
“That rankles, but it has also confirmed to me what I feared; Reform is no longer open or honest.
“Politics is a dirty game, but Reform has sunk deep into the sewer when it should have been a beacon of decency.
“Across Wales the candidate appointment does not reflect how people performed in the selection process; I know because I was there.
“In many constituencies those at the top of the list are not the best. Far too many are Tories – and the Reform vote will suffer.
“Politics should be about openness, decency and serving the country, which it once was in Reform.
“Politics is (or should be) about people, not process. Principles, not opportunism. Passion, not career building.
“The Reform Party has betrayed its early members’ vision, labour and achievements. I won’t be a party to that, so I resign.”
‘Rats in a sack’
Former Welsh Conservative Francesca O’Brien had been awarded the to spot on Reform’s list for Gŵyr Abertawe.
The Mumbles councillor defected to Nigel Farage’s party last year, quitting her position as a Senedd staffer.
South Wales West Senedd Member Tom Giffard said: “Instead of standing up for ordinary people, Reform in Swansea are fighting like rats in a sack.
“Their candidate process has been a mess, with new shady revelations emerging every day about their character, despite Reform promising a rigorous vetting process.
“With Wales crying out for change, why waste this opportunity by electing ‘three novices’ and a chameleon ‘on the make’ who simply won’t be able to deliver the change Wales needs?”
Lead Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency, Sam Bennett, said: “I agree with Patrick when he says that Reform have sunk deep into the sewer.
“They have selected a lead list candidate who said people on benefits should be ‘put down’, and who has consorted with far-right figures at public meetings.
“The people of Swansea and Gower deserve better than this. I’m standing up for decent politics that treats everyone with respect.”
Nazi salute
Benham-Crosswell’s resignation comes just a day after Reform’s lead candidate for Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg constituency announced he would stand down after Nation.Cymru revealed an image of him performing a Nazi salute.
There had been knowledge in Conservative circles for at least six years of the image showing Corey Edwards with a finger on his top lip and his other hand raised in the air in a Nazi style salute.
Where the photo was taken and what prompted the former special advisor to the Welsh secretary to make the hand gesture is not known.
Edward posted a video statement to X saying his political opponents were “digging up dirt” from his distant past.
Farage defended the offensive image saying Edwards had been imitating Basil Fawlty.
Reform later announced he would not be standing in the May 7 election due to mental health issues.
‘Parachuted’
Merthyr Tydfil Councillor Andrew Barry also quit the party this week citing anger over “parachuting” individuals into seats from outside the local area.
Barry – who defected to Reform UK during a keynote speech by Farage last year – also expressed anger over the substantial number of Conservative defectors the party had welcomed.
A Reform UK source said: “Ever since Farage took the leadership from Tice it’s been chaos, careerists who stood on the Rishi Sunak ticket either as general election or local councillor candidates got marched in by Nigel and said they now believed in Reform.
“But they were happy to stand with Sunak and all of those hopeless Tory governments and decisions.
“All been a long time coming, HQ imposing Tories and preventing any role for the branches to select the people they’d be told to knock doors for.
“It was always going to end with a nuclear fallout like this.”
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