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Plaid Cymru gains Senedd seat as Sarah Cooper-Lesadd defects

By Drooid · Sep 15, 2026, 10:56 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Plaid Cymru gained a Senedd seat when Sarah Cooper-Lesadd defected from Reform UK.
Cooper-Lesadd said Reform had “no interest in Wales” and favored division over solutions.
Her defection raised Plaid Cymru’s Senedd members to 44 and left Reform with 33 seats.
Reform’s Welsh leader Dan Thomas resigned after his 13 September arrest on suspicion of assault and controlling behaviour.

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Story summary

Plaid Cymru gained a Senedd seat when Sarah Cooper-Lesadd defected from Reform UK.
Cooper-Lesadd said Reform had “no interest in Wales” and favored division over solutions.
Her defection raised Plaid Cymru’s Senedd members to 44 and left Reform with 33 seats.
Reform’s Welsh leader Dan Thomas resigned after his 13 September arrest on suspicion of assault and controlling behaviour.