EditorCARMARTHENSHIRE: Reform UK names full Senedd slate — but selection rows and defections cast shadow over campaign launch
Reform UK has unveiled its six candidates for Carmarthenshire’s Senedd constituency and announced a new deputy leader for its Welsh operation — but the campaign launch arrives against a backdrop of candidate resignations, selection rows and defections that have dogged the party in recent weeks.
The party has confirmed its full list for Sir Gaerfyrddin, one of the 16 new enlarged constituencies that will each return six members under Wales’s new proportional voting system at the May 7 Senedd election.
Leading the ticket is Gareth Beer, a Kidwelly town councillor and local businessman who has become one of Reform’s most recognisable figures in Carmarthenshire. As Swansea Bay News has reported, Beer came within 1,504 votes of defeating Labour’s Nia Griffith in the Llanelli Westminster seat at the July 2024 general election — Reform UK’s strongest performance anywhere in Wales at that contest.
Gareth Beer, Reform UK’s lead candidate in the Sir Gaerfyrddin constituencyBeer is not the only Kidwelly town councillor contesting the Sir Gaerfyrddin seat this May. As Swansea Bay News has reported, Carl Peters-Bond — who is currently serving a historic fourth successive term as Mayor of Kidwelly — is also standing in the constituency, but as an independent candidate. Peters-Bond has been an active voice on Carmarthenshire issues during the campaign, calling for action on fuel costs for rural families and pushing for progress on the long-stalled reopening of St Clears railway station.
Beer said the response on the doorstep had been “overwhelmingly positive.” He added: “People are tired of the same old promises and spin from career politicians — they want a genuine alternative and real change at Cardiff Bay.”
Joining him on the list is Carmelo Colasanto, a county and community councillor who first worked in Llanelli 27 years ago and has since returned to the town, bringing a background in business compliance and corporate governance. Sarah Edwards, a retired dental professional and smallholder, stands as a prominent campaigner against electricity pylon developments across the Welsh countryside. Christopher Brooke, a retired engineer originally from Wrexham now based in Carmarthenshire, and Alan Cole — a business consultant with a background in senior roles at LG Electronics, Sanyo and HomeServe — round out the business-oriented portion of the list.
The sixth candidate is Michelle Beer, Gareth’s wife. A marketing and PR professional, she made Carmarthenshire political history when she won the Lliedi ward by-election in Llanelli in May 2025, becoming the county’s first-ever Reform UK councillor after defeating Labour in one of its traditional strongholds. The win followed just months after the Llanelli result had established the family as central figures in the party’s Carmarthenshire operation. More recently, Reform consolidated that county council foothold when the party won the Llangennech by-election, securing a second seat on Carmarthenshire County Council.
Michelle Beer was also among those who campaigned against plans to house asylum seekers at the Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli in 2023 — a proposal the Home Office ultimately abandoned following local opposition. The hotel’s subsequent closure has been one of the most significant ongoing stories in Carmarthenshire.
The Carmarthenshire candidate announcement coincided with news of a new appointment at the top of Reform’s Welsh operation. Dan Thomas, who was appointed Reform Wales leader by Nigel Farage in February, has named Helen Jenner as his deputy. Jenner — a Welsh speaker who tops the party’s list in the Bangor Conwy Môn constituency — was born in Neath and raised on Ynys Môn, and works as a teacher.
Helen Jenner has been named Reform Wales Deputy LeaderThomas said the appointment reflected the importance of teamwork across the organisation. Jenner said Wales was “at a crossroads” and described Reform as “the only party offering ambitious, credible solutions to the problems the people of Wales face.”
The announcements come at a turbulent time for the party in Wales. Just days after Reform revealed its Swansea and Gower candidate list, one of those named sensationally quit, accusing the party of betrayal and claiming it had “sunk deep into the sewer.” Separately, a Reform Senedd hopeful in Pembrokeshire resigned from the party entirely, alleging the candidate selection process had been rigged. The party has also seen a flow of new arrivals — including Swansea councillor Francesca O’Brien, who recently joined Reform from the Conservatives ahead of the election.
Polling puts the Senedd race in a state of flux. The most recent survey tracked by Swansea Bay News showed Plaid Cymru storming ahead of its rivals — a significant shift from earlier polls that had Reform neck and neck with the nationalists. In Sir Gaerfyrddin specifically, Plaid is projected to dominate with four seats, leaving Reform competing for the remaining two alongside Labour.
The candidates highlighted NHS waiting times, education standards, the cost of living and opposition to net zero energy policies as their main campaign priorities.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Reform win landslide victory in Llanelli by-election
Michelle Beer’s historic by-election win that made her Carmarthenshire’s first-ever Reform UK councillor.
Reform UK wins Llangennech by-election, securing second seat on Carmarthenshire County Council
The party doubled its county council representation in Carmarthenshire ahead of the Senedd campaign.
Swansea Reform UK candidate quits in furious ‘betrayal’ rant – ‘Party has sunk into the sewer!’
The turbulence that has run alongside Reform’s candidate announcements across South West Wales.
Reform Senedd hopeful quits party over claims of ‘rigged’ selection process in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion
Another candidate row that has complicated Reform’s campaign preparations in Wales.
Plaid Cymru storms ahead as shock Senedd poll predicts political earthquake in Wales
The latest polling picture that shapes the battle for seats in Sir Gaerfyrddin on May 7.
Candidate demands action on stalled St Clears station after ‘five years of promises’
Kidwelly mayor Carl Peters-Bond — also standing in Sir Gaerfyrddin but as an independent — on the campaign trail in Carmarthenshire.
