Reform candidate says free childcare will lead to abuse in nurseries

A Reform candidate has claimed "abuse in nurseries will skyrocket" if parents are offered more hours of free childcare in Wales.

Plaid Cymru has promised to extend free childcare to babies aged nine-months.

In an online post Martin Roberts said that "mothers will wish they'd looked after their babies themselves".

Reform has not responded directly to the comments by Roberts, but in response to BBC Wales they said Plaid "don't have a leg to stand on," referencing previous social media posts by some former and current Plaid Cymru candidates.

The comments follow claims from Plaid Cymru that another Reform candidate in the constituency, Mark Lawrence, told a hustings event that he would prefer to support women to stay at home to care for their children rather than investing in childcare.

Reform has not denied that Lawrence made the comments.

Lawrence is the third placed candidate for Reform on the Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr list, while Roberts is fourth on the party's list in the same constituency.

Giving parents more hours of free childcare has become a significant issue in the Senedd election this year.

Labour is promising to create 20,000 new spaces based on the current offering of 30 hours a week for working parents of children aged three and four, and the Flying Start scheme offering 12.5 hours to two year olds in certain areas.

Plaid Cymru and the Green Party are promising 20 free hours a week for children from nine months to 4-years-old, in addition to the existing offer, while the Liberal Democrats are promising 30 hours a week for the same period.

The Conservatives are promising 30 hours of childcare or the option to nominate a grandparent for a Grandparent Childcare Payment.

Reform UK has not committed to any childcare policy if they are elected.

Plaid Cymru candidate Heledd Fychan said: "Access to affordable, high-quality childcare is fundamental to women having real choice - whether that means staying at home, working, or balancing both.

"Childcare shouldn't only be seen as the responsibility of women either and I can't believe I have to say this in 2026.

"Views like that firmly belong in the dinosaur section of a museum."

A Welsh Conservative spokesperson said the comments "risk undermining the choices families make every day".

"Parents should be supported, not judged, and families deserve flexibility to choose what works best for them."

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: "These comments have no place in our society. They are just another example of Reform wanting to drag us back to the past.

"Welsh Labour are focused on the future, with an offer to expand childcare and plans to extend free school meals into secondary schools.

The Green Party and the Liberal Democrats have also been asked for their response

Asked for its response, a Reform spokesperson said Plaid Cymru had its own issues with current and former candidates, including one that shared a social media post suggesting the former prime minister Rishi Sunak should be "put down" and another who used an offensive word to describe children in an online post.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Plaid. They don't have a leg to stand on," the Reform spokesperson added.

A full list of candidates for the Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr constituency can be found here.