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Nigel Farage described Welsh people as “foreign speakers” in a paid-for personalised video message that could prove awkward for Reform UK in forthcoming elections in the country.
Farage made the remarks in a video he was paid to make on Cameo, a personalised video platform, to celebrate a wedding.
The video was unearthed by the Guardian among a tranche of more than 4,000 clips the Reform leader has produced on the platform, which enables public figures and celebrities to sell recorded messages for members of the public.
Farage’s use of the platform has already come under intense scrutiny after a Guardian investigation revealed he had recorded videos supporting a rioter, repeating extremist slogans, and endorsing a neo-Nazi event.
Users of Cameo write a short “prompt” for their chosen celebrity, who then charges them a fee for a clip that usually lasts less than a minute.
Farage’s comment about Welsh people is in a video he made in July 2025, for which he charged £106. The Cameo user asked him to record a wedding message for “Toby and Sam” and to follow a script that said: “I really wanted to come, but when I heard that half the guests were Welsh, I thought: ‘That’s far too many foreigners for me’.”
The video Farage produced appeared to contain a glitch, and consisted of two versions of the same message. In the first, he said: “Gutted I couldn’t attend the wedding today. I really wanted to come, but when I heard half the guests were Welsh, I thought: ‘No, that’s too much, I might get mobbed. Who knows what would happen?’”
In the second version, Farage said: “Gutted I couldn’t attend the wedding. I wanted to come, but I heard that half the guests were Welsh, and I don’t know. Who knows what would have happened with all those foreign speakers there. I don’t know.”
Farage’s comment in the video risks damaging Reform’s campaign to take control of the Senedd, the devolved Welsh parliament, which is now run by Labour, in elections in May.
Farage claimed the Senedd elections would be a “referendum” on Keir Starmer’s premiership during a launch of the party’s manifesto, which featured spelling mistakes in two of three Welsh words on the document’s cover.
Polling by More in Common suggests Reform is seen by some voters as being “disconnected from the Welsh language, its culture and priorities”. The party has promised to scrap a target of 1 million Welsh-language speakers and to undo the Welsh Language and Education Act, which campaigners say would threaten the provision of Welsh-medium schooling.
Another Cameo video produced by Farage in March 2021 raises questions about who he is willing to receive money from. The user who commissioned the video asked him to record a birthday message for someone who “doesn’t like scousers or the Welsh”.
Farage accepted the commission, charging £75. In his recorded message, he said: “You have a slight aversion to the Welsh and scousers. Well … you have to pick and choose where you go. You never know, they might not like you too much either.”
A spokesperson for Farage said: “A Cameo is a short personalised message requested by members of the public and should not be treated as political statements or campaign activity.”
