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Ex-UKIP Senedd leader Gareth Bennett joins anti-devolution party

BBC Gareth BennettBBC
Gareth Bennett is a former UKIP Senedd leader

Gareth Bennett, the former leader of UKIP in the Senedd, has joined the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party.

Mr Bennett, who has campaigned for the abolition of devolution for some time, claimed the Welsh Parliament "is an overpriced, unnecessary tier of politicians".

The independent Member of the Senedd (MS) has employed two of the party's officers since February.

Abolish the Welsh Assembly won 4.5% of the regional vote in 2016.

Polling expert Prof Roger Scully has speculated the party could win Senedd seats when the next polls are held in May.

Mr Bennett was picked as leader of UKIP in the Senedd in the summer of 2018, but his group ceased to exist following defections and the formation of the Brexit Party group less than a year later.

He was elected to serve the region of South Wales Central in 2016, after surviving calls within the party for him to be deselected because of comments he made about Eastern European immigrants.

The MS left UKIP in November 2019.

tattywelshie National Assemblytattywelshie
The party wants to abolish the Welsh Parliament

Mr Bennett said: "My time as an assembly member has confirmed my thoughts that the establishment is an overpriced, unnecessary tier of politicians."

Claiming the people of Wales are "worse off under devolution", he said he looked forward to "working closely with the team for the 2021 elections".

Leader of the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, Richard Suchorzewski, who has worked for Mr Bennett alongside the party's press officer Simon Rees, said: "Gareth will no doubt play a pivotal role in our 2021 anti-Senedd election campaign. The next few months will see us unveiling more candidates and possibly a few surprises."

Abolish said Mr Suchorzewski was leaving Mr Bennett's employment, while Mr Rees' contract is being reviewed.

The party also announced that Richard Taylor, a former Brexit Party parliamentary candidate in Blaenau Gwent at the 2019 election, has joined the party.

Abolish the Welsh Assembly has kept its name despite the institution's decision to change its title to Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament last month.

The party said changing its name now may confuse voters.