{"id":376962,"date":"2025-08-27T06:43:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T06:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/376962\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T06:43:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T06:43:16","slug":"plaid-candidate-joined-reform-uk-as-a-spy-to-see-whether-it-would-target-community-food-banks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/376962\/","title":{"rendered":"Plaid candidate ‘joined Reform UK as a spy’ to see whether it would target community food banks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Carol Ann Falcon. Photo Facebook<\/p>\n

Martin Shipton<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plaid Cymru has revealed that one of its election candidates briefly joined Reform UK as a \u201cdouble agent\u201d to find out whether the right-wing party would target community food banks in deprived areas of Wales as part of its political activity.<\/p>\n

Carol Ann Falcon will be Plaid\u2019s by-election candidate in Cardiff council\u2019s Trowbridge ward on September 18.<\/p>\n

Nation.Cymru reported how in line with a recently introduced requirement that candidates must declare if they have been a member of another political party in the last 12 months, Ms Falcon has a statement against her name that says: \u201cReform Party 06\/01\/2025 \u2013 01\/04\/2025.\u201d The statement was published on the list of seven by-election candidates who will be standing.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Shocked\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

A political source who drew her previous membership of Reform to our attention said: \u201cI was shocked to read the statement of nominated people for the Trowbridge by election. The Plaid candidate was a member of the Reform party until April 2025 \u2013 only four months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can all agree that it\u2019s important to change people\u2019s minds, but to go from a Reform member to a Plaid candidate is a huge jump. I cannot think of another political example of such a quick conversion from a far right Brit Nat party to a left wing Welsh Nationalist party.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Trowbridge by-election is likely to be a small turnout, a small vote could take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

We asked Plaid Cymru a series of questions:<\/p>\n

Why did she join a far right Brit Nationalist party in the first place?<\/p>\n

When did she become a member of the socialist Welsh Nationalist Plaid Cymru?<\/p>\n

Have her political views really changed completely in four months?<\/p>\n

What vetting took place to ensure Ms Falcon\u2019s views are now aligned with Plaid?<\/p>\n

Has a decision been taken to allow Ms Falcon to be a Plaid candidate despite her only joining the party very recently (what is the usual qualifying period?) and at what level in the party was this decision taken?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Particular circumstances\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

We did not receive a response. After publishing the story on the evening of Monday August 25, we were sent a statement from Ms Falcon in which she said: \u201cI was a member of Reform for a brief period earlier this year in particular circumstances, but it quickly became crystal clear that their values do not align with mine.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaid Cymru\u2019s values of fairness, community, and social justice are my values and I believe they offer the best path forward for Trowbridge and St Mellons. Labour are already running scared of a strong local voice here, and I am proud to represent my community in line with Plaid Cymru\u2019s progressive values.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat really matters is that my community deserves a strong local voice. This election is about my community\u2019s future, not distractions.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Plaid Cymru source who did not wish to be named said: \u201cI am appalled to learn that the party is putting forward a candidate who was a member of Reform so recently.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two parties are poles apart on so many issues that it\u2019s difficult to understand how someone could have made such a conversion, certainly in such a short space of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should be explaining what has happened rather than simply try to pretend there\u2019s nothing to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Undercover operation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now Plaid Cymru has issued a statement of its own in which it reveals that Ms Falcon joined Reform as part of an undercover operation. It says: \u201cPlaid Cymru is proud to support Carol Ann Falcon as our candidate for Trowbridge and St Mellons in the upcoming Cardiff Council by-election.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaid Cymru locally approached Carol Ann to stand as our candidate as she has been an active member of the party for several years and has consistently demonstrated her commitment to Trowbridge and St Mellons through volunteering with food banks, local initiatives, and other charitable work. She has lived in St Mellons since 1984 and brings a long-standing dedication to her community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn January 2025, Carol Ann through her grassroots work became aware of concerns that Reform UK would target community food banks in deprived areas of Wales as part of its political activity. Motivated by concern to protect her community, she briefly joined Reform UK to see first-hand what information was being shared so she could counter it if needed. Carol Ann has never shared their values, engaged in their activities, nor voted for them, and ended her membership within weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was open and transparent about this when the local Plaid Cymru branch asked her to stand, declared it on her official nomination form, and the party fully understands the reasoning behind her actions in that she acted to safeguard her community, consistent with her wider community work.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarol Ann\u2019s focus remains on serving her community. She is campaigning on real local priorities: better bus services, housing that keeps pace with local schools and healthcare, improved youth provision, tackling anti-social behaviour, and ensuring the community has a strong voice on developments such as Cardiff Parkway while ensuring that the principles of social justice, fairness, and integrity guide her work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have complete confidence in Carol Ann Falcon. She has the experience, local knowledge, and commitment to be a strong voice for Trowbridge and St Mellons, and we are proud to stand alongside her in this election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Falcon is a trustee of an anti-poverty charity called Here For Good, based in St Mellons, Cardiff, part of the Trowbridge ward. One of its projects is St Mellons Pantry, a community-led initiative tackling food insecurity.<\/p>\n

It is unclear what information Ms Falcon gleaned during her brief espionage career.<\/p>\n

Support our Nation today<\/p>\n

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\n independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by
\n the people of Wales.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carol Ann Falcon. Photo Facebook Martin Shipton Plaid Cymru has revealed that one of its election candidates briefly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[748,393,4884,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-376962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-northern-ireland","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115099376721582606","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}