On average, a third of Colby College students who study abroad choose the United Kingdom as their destination. Most, like myself, find a home away from home in the busy, always-buzzing London. Others choose the University of St Andrews in Scotland, which remains an equally popular choice. While picturesque campuses, lively pubs, and red telephone boxes may be the obvious appeal, British politics is no less fascinating. With local elections in London and devolved parliamentary elections in Wales and Scotland scheduled for May 7, 2026, we are about to see it on full display.
The election is of particular importance for Wales, which has had a Labour government since devolution began in 1999. Labour, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, took over Westminster in 2024 after winning a landslide victory over the governing Conservative Party, ending the Tories’ 14-year reign. But two years later, the Welsh people might be thinking that a Labour-led government and Senedd (Welsh Parliament) are no longer working for them. Rachel Nicholas `26, a Welsh student at Colby College, noted that the Labour stronghold in Wales cannot be overstated. “Wales has a deep industrial heritage and a strong working-class Labour tradition. Labour was always the party that spoke for those communities,” Nicholas explained.
Still, in the latest poll, Labour seems on track for its worst-ever local election performance. Part of the reason is not only the Welsh Labour Party’s unpopular policies, such as the 20 mph standard speed limit across the whole country, but also what Nicholas calls “a false promise.” “Labour has always made a big deal about how great things would be when Westminster and the Senedd were both Labour. Yet, given there is not a notable difference in the way the Senedd is run now, it could be said that Westminster serves as a scapegoat for Labour in Wales,” Nicholas said.
As a result, two parties, Reform UK and Plaid Cymru, poll neck-and-neck, with Reform UK projected to secure 37 seats and Plaid Cymru 36 in the 96-seat Senedd. Reform is most known for its controversial leader, Nigel Farage, who spearheaded the Brexit movement, building his platform on an all-encompassing anti-immigration sentiment. It is no exaggeration to say that Reform is more or less synonymous with Farage, both in Wales and the entire union.
The far-right party might be relatively new on the market, having been founded in 2018, but it was only in February that Farage appointed a regional leader for Reform in Wales. Nicholas calls it a “cult of personality” essentially, and it might be for a sound reason. For example, in 2025, Reform was accused of weaponizing immigration for political gain in the South Welsh constituency of Caerphilly ahead of the 2025 Senedd byelection, although only 2.9 percent of Caerphilly’s population was born outside the UK. This year, Reform did not stay away from making anti-immigration claims, pledging in their manifesto to “stop the use of migrant hotels,” “prioritise Welsh men and women for social housing,” and “end the Nation of Sanctuary” policy, which supports refugees and asylum seekers.
On the other hand, Plaid Cymru, also known as the Party of Wales, is having its moment. Nicholas, who grew up in a South Wales constituency that has historically been a Labour-Conservative split, said that Plaid has been, until now, mainly a fringe party. “Plaid is most popular in the rural, predominantly Welsh-speaking areas of Wales. If you look at the map, Plaid’s strongholds are typically farming communities where there’s a lot of pride in the Welsh language, and Plaid is known most, aside from advocating for independence, for promoting Welsh language and culture,” Nicholas said.
Although its strong polling performance might seem surprising, it simply reflects a broader disillusionment with Westminster, one that runs persistently across the country. Plaid has woven Welsh independence into its very identity, making it central to what the party stands for. Its manifesto focuses primarily on social, economic, and welfare issues, such as cutting National Health Service (NHS) waiting times, the longest in the UK, while laying the groundwork for a future independence referendum.
This is far from new. The Brexit era gave rise to YesCymru, a non-partisan campaign group advocating for Welsh independence. Membership surged during the pandemic, when the Welsh Government’s perceived success in handling the crisis independently stoked already-simmering resentment toward Westminster. A Plaid victory could yet give YesCymru fresh momentum, but Welsh independence remains more of a political tool than a genuine constitutional aspiration for most. The historical record bears this out: in the 1970s, only around 30 percent of Welsh voters backed devolution; in the 1990s, it barely passed, with Wales voting only narrowly for limited control over health and education. “There hasn’t been a strong or consistent political consciousness around independence in the way you might see in Scotland,” Nicholas explained. “A vote for Plaid is, to some extent, a vote that says the union isn’t working for us.”
Finally, the stakes for the UK in this election are high. While Starmer has cultivated a positive image on the international stage for his focus on rebuilding alliances, he is less popular at home. For many, like Nicholas, this election might feel like the UK is at a crossroads, that Starmer’s government is clinging on to the old order, and that this is a holding period before things get truly fractious. Wales, thus, will give an idea of what the future of the UK looks like, and whether it promises an era of political stalemate.
“However this election goes, it offers an insight into the pulse of the nation,” Nicholas concluded.
~ Cristina Panaguta `26
Be First to Comment