Martin Roberts - Candidate (Senedd Cymru elections) for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr | Reform Watch
Profile and accountability tracker for Martin Roberts, Candidate (Senedd Cymru elections) for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr. Reform UK.
Role: Candidate (Senedd Cymru elections) for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr
Party: Reform UK
Recorded incidents (showing 1-2 of 2)
Martin Roberts used racial slur in ITV undercover probe
Category: racism
Martin Roberts used a highly offensive racial slur during a conversation recorded by an undercover ITV reporter. Hidden-camera footage captured him making derogatory remarks about Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and about people the reporter said were from Leicester. The recording also shows Roberts using further vulgar language in the same exchange. The footage prompted public condemnation from Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar. Roberts told ITV he had been trying to be "humorous and informal", said he accepted and regretted using language he described as inappropriate, and denied being a bigot or an extremist. Jason O'Connell confirmed Roberts no longer worked as his caseworker, though a spokesperson would not say when that employment ended, and Reform UK said investigations have commenced where members have behaved inappropriately and some people had been suspended.
Roberts claimed nursery abuse would "skyrocket" if Welsh parents got free childcare
Category: offensive
Martin Roberts, a Reform UK candidate ahead of the Senedd elections, claimed that abuse in nurseries would "skyrocket" if Welsh parents were offered more hours of free childcare, adding that "mothers will wish they had looked after their babies themselves". The comments imply that expanded childcare provision would drive abuse of children and that working mothers should regret using the service. The posts were surfaced in HOPE not hate's 30 April 2026 report "60 Reasons (and Counting) to Not Vote Reform on May 7th". Reform Wales retained him as a candidate for the 7 May 2026 elections despite the party's public claim its vetting was "the best in the country".