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Welsh leaders debates expose immigration paradox

1 min read

19:09UTC

ITV Cymru Wales hosted the first Senedd leaders debate on Sunday 19 April; S4C and BBC Radio Cymru aired Y Ddadl Fawr on Thursday 23 April; the BBC One Wales debate is scheduled for Tuesday 28 April. Immigration dominated the ITV debate despite the Senedd having no powers over it.

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Key takeaway

The Welsh debates centre on immigration, an issue the Senedd cannot legislate on.

ITV Cymru Wales hosted "Wales Decides 2026" on Sunday 19 April with all six party leaders, presented by Adrian Masters⁠¹. The most heated exchange came on immigration: Reform and the Conservatives were accused of "stoking divisive rhetoric". Reform Wales's Dan Thomas defended the position as "voicing the genuine concerns that the general public have in Wales". Welsh Labour First Minister Eluned Morgan interjected on Reform's claim of £40m in NHS savings: "that wouldn't pay for the NHS for half a day".

S4C and BBC Radio Cymru aired "Y Ddadl Fawr" on Thursday 23 April, presented by Bethan Rhys Roberts. The third Welsh debate, on BBC One Wales also presented by Rhys Roberts, is scheduled for Tuesday 28 April from a Cardiff studio audience. The Senedd has no immigration powers, which are reserved to Westminster, but the issue dominated the first televised exchange and is expected to recur. The Welsh ballot under the new closed-list system translates national vote share directly into Senedd seats, which makes each televised exchange a direct input into the seat allocation that the post-debate polling will register.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Wales is about to elect a new Senedd (the Welsh Parliament) on 7 May. Before the election, all the major party leaders take part in televised debates , similar to the UK general election debates, but for Welsh politics. ITV Cymru Wales (the Welsh ITV channel) hosted the first debate on 19 April, with all six party leaders. S4C, the Welsh-language TV channel, and BBC Radio Cymru broadcast a second debate, 'Y Ddadl Fawr' (which means 'The Big Debate' in Welsh), on 23 April. A third debate on BBC One Wales is scheduled for 28 April, one week before polling day. Much of the first debate focused on immigration, despite the Senedd holding no power over it; immigration policy is set by the UK Parliament at Westminster. Reform UK's Dan Thomas argued the public cares about it regardless. First Minister Eluned Morgan (Welsh Labour) challenged Reform's claim that £40 million in NHS savings would be possible, saying it would not cover the Welsh NHS for half a day. These debates matter because polling projects that Welsh Labour, which has governed Wales since 1999, could fall from 29 to as few as 12 Senedd seats {{EVREF:/t/uk-elections-2026/3/Wales-Greens-projected-as-Senedd-kingmakers/}}. Many voters are encountering the new parties and the new voting system for the first time.

Sources:ITV Cymru Wales

Mentions:ITV News Wales →S4C →BBC Radio Cymru →Eluned Morgan →Tinopolis →BBC One Wales →Parliament →Wales →Welsh Labour →Senedd →Reform UK →Westminster →Dan Thomas →Adrian Masters →Bethan Rhys Roberts →

First Reported In

Update #5 · 11 Days to Go: Six-of-six, RPA dies, Welsh lead flips

ITV Cymru Wales· 26 Apr 2026

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Causes and effects

This Event

Welsh leaders debates expose immigration paradox

The strongest Reform mobilisation issue runs through a chamber that cannot legislate on it, putting the Welsh debates at the centre of a campaign whose pivot issue is reserved to Westminster.

Led to

Welsh Labour at 12%, lowest since 1906

The BBC Wales debate scheduled in ID:2805 occurred on 28 April and produced the Farage minus 18 and ap Iorwerth plus 10 net ratings reported here

Occurred 28 Apr 2026

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Different Perspectives

Rhun ap Iorwerth / Welsh Government (Plaid Cymru)

Ap Iorwerth presented six priorities to the Senedd on 22 September without numeric targets or a named partner party, promising to work across the chamber where there is common ground. He says his government will be judged on results.

Michael Marra / Scottish Labour

Marra won the leadership on 19 September, and three days later his 17 MSPs backed Swinney's right-to-decide motion once their child-poverty amendment was written in. He says Scottish Labour's task is to tell voters what it stands for.

Andy Burnham / Labour Party

Burnham told conference in Liverpool on 29 September that Labour's next manifesto will commit to changing the electoral system, and invited every party into a National Commission on Electoral Reform. He has not named a replacement system, and no chair or remit has been published.

Conservative Party (frontbench peers and Kemi Badenoch)

Conservative frontbench peers argued against retrospective rules at the Lords Second Reading on 14 September, a position that protects gifts made before any cap. Kemi Badenoch rejected Burnham's electoral reform commission on 2 October, accusing him of using it to entrench the left.

Reform UK

Reform denied wrongdoing after the Channel 4 News programme, called the sting a hoax by climate activists and said it would cooperate with the Metropolitan Police. In the same month it announced £36m gifts from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne.

Steff Aquarone / Liberal Democrats (North Norfolk)

Aquarone told Rayner in the Commons on 7 September that North Norfolk District Council had spent money preparing for a reorganisation the Government has now withdrawn. He puts the cost of the cancelled merger on districts in the four areas.