Labour panic over 'serious threat' from Reform in Wales as poll shows insurgents ahead on 28% and on track to run Senedd - with Keir Starmer's party in THIRD behind Plaid
More In Common research for Sky News put support for the insurgents on 28 per cent, ahead of Plaid Cymru on 26 per cent.
Labour was in third on 23 per cent, while the Tories and Lib Dems were trailing on 10 per cent and 7 per cent respectively.
The results suggest that Reform could be the biggest party in the Senedd next year - although potentially well short of the 49 seats needed for an outright majority.
Labour's leader in Wales, Baroness Eluned Morgan, warned that voters could see perks such as free prescriptions and free school meals for primary school children 'snatched away'.
She said: 'We're taking it very seriously, and we think the threat from Reform is a very serious threat.'
Mr Farage is targeting the Senedd after extraordinary advances in local elections in England in May.
Former Welsh Secretary David Jones - who stepped down from the Commons at the general election - was unveiled as a defector from the Tories yesterday.
If the poll results were replicated next year, it could mean the end of Labour's 26 years of domination in Wales, where it has held power since devolution.
Reform would be estimated to get 33 seats, with Labour dropping from 30 to 25 and Plaid going from 13 to 30.
Baroness Morgan acknowledged there was 'a possibility' that Reform could become the largest party in the Senedd, saying it was 'really concerning', but added it would be 'difficult for them to rule by themselves'.
But she ruled out entering a coalition with the party, saying: 'I wouldn't touch Reform with a bargepole.'
The First Minister also insisted that Labour would be able to win voters back by being 'authentic' and 'clear with people about what we stand for', rather than trying to 'out-Reform Reform'.
She said: 'I think we've got to lead with our values. We're about bringing communities together, not dividing them, and I do think that what Reform is interested in is dividing people and people do need to make choices on things like that.
'So, what I won't be doing in Wales is chasing Reform down a path where we can try and out-Reform Reform. I'm not interested in that, because those aren't my values.'
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