Just a stone’s throw away from Caerphilly’s 750-year-old castle, Reform UK’s Welsh masterminds are trying to end Labour’s century-long grip on the seat.
At a time when Caerphilly’s Cardiff Street has been transformed to accommodate vape shops and Turkish barbers, a teal glow shines through at the centre.
The door is kept wide open, leaving voters free to express their feelings towards Reform UK, Nigel Farage and local candidate Llyr Powell.
“These boats just keep coming across,” one elderly man said. “It’s got to stop.”
However, one woman was far less receptive, particularly when it comes to Reform UK’s slogan.
She barked: “Caerphilly doesn’t f**king need Reform.”
After taking a step inside Reform’s by-election bunker, GB News was met with a hive of activity.
Leaflets piled up ready for another round of canvassing, activists returned to report on the feeling on the ground, and the door was left wide open to let locals share their feelings about the by-election campaign.
However, there is something remarkably different about Reform’s operation, especially compared to the last General Election.
At a time when Caerphilly’s Cardiff Street has been transformed to accommodate vape shops and Turkish barbers, a teal glow shines through at the centre
|GETTY
Upstairs, in Reform UK’s by-election war room, it becomes clear just how drastically Nigel Farage’s strategy has changed since his days as Ukip leader.
Reform UK had always been playing catch-up with the established political parties.
Whether it was about manpower or data, Mr Farage seemed to be in a continuous state of being outgunned.
But those days now seem to be behind us.
Reform’s membership is edging closer to Labour’s and the technological revolution has completely changed the game.
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Llyr Powell discussed the Caerphilly by-election campaign with GB News
|GB NEWS
Inside the by-election bunker, Reform AI projections of vote shares tell activists all they need to know about their key target wards.
And Mr Powell is also keeping an eye on real-time canvassing data.
The days of clipboard-clutching activists jotting down the information are over.
In a digitised world, Reform UK is now inputting information at a rate of knots.
“We're upscaling massively,” one Reform source said.
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After taking a step inside Reform’s by-election bunker, GB News was met with a hive of activity
|PA
Mr Powell, who has worked alongside Mr Farage since his Ukip days, was also clear that Reform’s campaign in Caerphilly has taken it up a gear.
He told GB News: “We had a standing start. We had to find people.
“But since getting out there, we’ve actually been doing better than we projected in some areas and some council wards that you wouldn’t have typically said, is a Reform area, but we’ve found some good support.
“That’s been very good. The professionalisation of the party now means we’re coming into our stride, connecting with voters.”
Mr Farage has always been clear that professionalisation is needed to propel him towards No10.
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Sandwiched between a Greggs and a Turkish barbershop, Richard Tunnicliffe’s office is covered in campaign ads
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Alongside his so-called People’s Army of 260,000 members, the Reform UK leader urged his supporters to take inspiration from the Liberal Democrats to break through.
Since he issued his rallying cry last year, Reform UK has picked up hundreds of local council seats, won a handful of mayoralties and picked up Runcorn & Helsby in the House of Commons.
And as more and more electoral tests come, Reform’s data set gets bigger and bigger, bringing it closer to the established parties by the day.
However, Mr Powell also suggested Reform UK has made one simple decision that is helping him on the doors.
He said: “We have a policy that the door is always open.
“Other campaign offices don’t have that. We’re inviting people to come in to have a chat with us. That’s very important.”
The door was swinging open as activists made their way around the constituency canvassing
|GB NEWS
Labour’s office is less than a three-minute walk from Reform’s campaign headquarters.
Sandwiched between a Greggs and a Turkish barbershop, Richard Tunnicliffe’s office is covered in campaign ads.
It’s almost impossible to tell how many people are inside the office, especially given the front door was closed for pretty much all of Friday.
Just across the road from Caerphilly Castle, Plaid Cymru’s office is facing off against the Reform-covered Piccadilly pub.
Plaid Cymru’s office, which had a much more direct and simpler look to it compared to Labour’s, was certainly quite active.
The door was swinging open as activists made their way around the constituency canvassing.
However, the open-door policy adopted by Reform UK was not being employed by the Welsh nationalists on Friday.
“Pop in for a poster,” Plaid urged locals instead.
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