Cardiff — Reform UK’s bid to win its first seat in the Welsh Senedd was dealt a blow this week after Corey Edwards, the party’s candidate in Rhondda, pulled out of the contest amid uproar over a video that appeared to show him performing a Nazi salute.
The 27-second clip, filmed outside a Pontypridd pub on 21 March and circulated widely on social media, shows Edwards raising his right arm while laughing with friends. Within hours of the footage emerging, pressure mounted on the right-leaning party to act. By late Saturday, Edwards had tendered his resignation as a candidate, according to party officials.
“I never intended to cause offence,” Edwards said in a statement released by Reform UK. “I was mimicking Basil Fawlty in the classic sitcom sketch and not endorsing any extremist ideology.” Party leader Nigel Farage echoed the explanation during his Sunday LBC programme, calling the incident “a youthful error blown out of proportion.”
Opposition parties rejected that defence. Welsh Labour’s deputy leader Carolyn Harris said the gesture “crossed a line that has no place in Welsh public life,” while Plaid Cymru urged Reform UK to overhaul its vetting procedures. Several Jewish community groups also condemned the salute, noting a recent rise in antisemitic incidents across the UK.
The Reform UK Wales chair told reporters the party would “respect Mr Edwards’ decision” and confirmed no replacement would be fielded before the 5 April nominations deadline, effectively leaving the Rhondda seat a two-horse race between Labour and Plaid Cymru. Election analysts say the withdrawal is unlikely to shift the overall Senedd map but could damage Reform UK’s broader rebranding effort from the Brexit Party to a national protest movement.
Edwards, 31, had been a relative unknown before being selected in January. The incident now raises fresh questions about the social-media vetting of would-be politicians. “Every party is one unvetted TikTok video away from disaster,” said Dr Siân Price, a politics lecturer at Cardiff University. “Reform UK is simply the latest example.”
The Electoral Commission confirmed it had received notification of Edwards’ withdrawal and said ballot papers would be amended if paperwork is completed before printing begins next week.
Looking ahead, strategists expect rival parties to cite the episode as evidence that Reform UK lacks the discipline required for mainstream office. Farage, meanwhile, faces the challenge of keeping the story from overshadowing his planned nationwide tour on tax and immigration.
“This could be a blip, or it could crystallise doubts about the party’s culture,” said one senior Conservative campaigner. “How Farage contains it may decide how seriously voters take Reform UK in May.”