Nigel Farage has made a major campaign announcement for Wales as Reform UK starts setting its sights on the 2026 Senedd election.
Farage has confirmed that - while he did consider it - he will not be standing to take a seat in the Welsh Parliament.
Electoral rules in Wales mean that only Senedd candidates can take part in televised debates, and rumours had been circling that Farage may look to stand in a bid to bring his campaigning firepower to Welsh screens.
But now, the Reform boss has laid out his personal plans.
Farage has confirmed that he will not be standing to take a seat in the Welsh Parliament
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"I don't intend to do that. That would be playing the game in the most cynical way and I'm not going to do it," he told ITV News.
Recent polls have warned that Labour's decades-long uninterrupted control in Wales could be coming to an end - with Reform UK and Plaid Cymru tipped to surge in support in the party's absence.
And Farage has laid into the Welsh establishment as a result.
"What you'll find is a political class in Cardiff Bay pretty detached from the centre ground of public opinion," he said.
ONE YEAR UNTIL THE SENEDD ELECTIONS - READ MORE:
Recent polls have warned that Labour's decades-long uninterrupted control in the Senedd could be coming to an end
PA"I honestly believe that one of the reasons you've seen Reform surge in the way that it has in Wales, in terms of membership, in terms of activists, in terms of polling numbers, is - far from being the nasty party - We're actually reflecting what a majority of decent people think."
He has also left the door open for potential defections, with onlookers pointing to hardliner former Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew RT Davies as a future Reformer.
Davies has, in the past, ruled out a switch - but Farage said he was a "very interesting politician" and invited him for a "chat over a cup of tea".
And in a rallying call to possible future Senedd Members, the Reform leader added: "To be honest with you, what I'm really interested in is finding talent that can come in from people who've probably never been in politics before but want to give.
Farage said Andrew RT Davies was a 'very interesting politician' and invited him for a 'chat over a cup of tea'
PA"You have to have some experience in there, of course you do... But the problem is, with politics in this country, right across the UK, it's become a career.
"It has become something you aspire to at university and what I want to see are people coming in from different walks of life."
YouGov data collected from April 22-30 has placed Reform, at 25 per cent, seven percentage points clear of Labour at 18 among Welsh voters, with exactly 51 weeks remaining until the country heads to the polls.
But Farage's party still sits behind a surging Plaid, for which 30 per cent of people would vote if an election were held tomorrow.
