Labour MS demands BBC blocks Nigel Farage from major election debate

He instead suggested the BBC should only invite politicians seeking election to Cardiff Bay.

Mr Davies said: “An argument like that may go down well in London, but it doesn’t wash in Wales.

“We’re not talking about what happens in a debating society – we’re talking about the governance of Wales.

“Farage has no place in such a debate. He will not be a candidate and is not a potential First Minister.

“The people of Wales have a right to hear from those who are in a position where they could become First Minister what their vision is for Wales.

"That must be the focus of any leadership debates that take place, and the broadcasters involved should adopt that position.”

However, Reform UK does not currently have a leader in Wales, sparking concerns among rival parties that Mr Farage might want to join the debate.

Ex-MEP Nathan Gill served as Reform UK's leader in Wales for two months in 2021.

Gill, 52, was sentenced last month to serve ten and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to accepting bribes totalling an estimated £40,000 from a Russian agent.

The BBC has not yet decided whether it will extend an invitation to Mr Farage.

A BBC Wales spokesman said: “We’ll be announcing our plans for election programmes and coverage in due course.”

However, ITV made its decision in May 2025 to only invite those standing as Welsh Parliament candidates to participate in the debate.

Such a decision means the debate will include Labour's First Minister Eluned Morgan, Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth, Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds and Welsh Greens chief Anthony Slaughter.

Opinion polls suggest the Welsh Parliament Election is a knife-edge contest between Plaid Cymru and Reform UK.

Despite Labour winning in Wales in every general or devolved poll since 1918, YouGov placed Plaid Cymru in first place on 33 per cent.

Meanwhile, Reform UK's support stood at 30 per cent, leaving Labour and the Conservatives in joint fourth on just 10 per cent.

Plaid Cymru received a major boost in its campaign to top next May's poll in October when it secured victory in the hotly contested Caerphilly by-election.

Lindsay Whittle, who first stood as Plaid's candidate in the town in 1983, won with 15,961 votes.

Reform UK's Llyr Powell managed to secure 12,113 votes, pushing Labour from first into third on just 3,713.

Despite Reform UK witnessing a surge in support in Wales, activists opposing Mr Farage have been accused of launching an intimidating campaign.

Following the Caerphilly by-election, vandals targeted the right-wing party's Cardiff Road office.

"Now you can f**k off home," was emblazoned across Reform's campaign office shutters.

Speaking to the People's Channel at the Caerphilly count, Mr Powell said: "I am grateful to every voter who went to the ballot box and voted Reform - despite the fear and attacks that have been put against them by the other parties."

Photos shared with GB News appeared to show anti-Reform activists had targeted posters across the constituency that were supporting Mr Powell's bid to become the party's second Senedd Member.

Swastikas had been drawn in the corner of one poster, while another crossed out Mr Powell's face and emblazoned "RACISTS!" over the Welsh dragon.

GB News also understands that anti-Reform activists launched a boycott of shops in the former mining town of Bargoed after local businesses started putting up posters supporting Nigel Farage's party.

A Reform UK Remembrance wreath was vandalised just a few weeks later, with the party's logo being left on the floor.