Want to keep up to date on Welsh politics? Sign up and get political news sent straight to your inbox Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Welsh Labour has launched a touring advertising van aimed at stopping supporters from defecting to Ukip.

Shocked by the level of support the anti-EU party secured in Wales at the European Parliament election in May this year, Labour says it is determined to expose what it sees as Ukip’s unpalatable other policies.

Across Wales Ukip was less than 5,000 votes behind Labour, actually winning in local authorities as diverse as Wrexham, Powys and the Vale of Glamorgan.

In Valleys communities, protest votes from disillusioned Labour voters that in the past have gone to Plaid Cymru found a new home with Ukip.

Recently Ukip has opened new offices in the Alyn and Deeside consituency in North Wales and in Penarth, which forms part of the Cardiff South & Penarth constituency, Both are seen as target seats by Ukip.

While it is perhaps unlikely that Ukip will win a Welsh seat at next May’s general election, polls suggest it is likely to pick up a number of regional list seats in the 2016 Assembly election.

Equally, the party will be hoping to establish itself as the main anti-Labour challenger in as many seats as possible, with a view to winning them at the following general election in 2020.

Ukip is holding a one-day Welsh conference at Margam Park, Port Talbot on Saturday. Party leader Nigel Farage is expected to deliver a keynote address talking up his party’s chances next May.

The Welsh Labour advertising van features a large photograph of Mr Farage with a Margaret Thatcher mug, with a quote from him saying: “I am a Thatcherite”.

Underneath there is a message which reads: “Ukip are reliant on Tory money, Tory people and Tory policies”.

The van was launched in Barry and is currently on tour in South Wales. As well as the AdVan, Welsh Labour has around a quarter of a million tabloid newspapers going out too.

The tabloid focuses on what Labour describes as its positive offer for Wales, but also promises to “lift the lid” on Ukip’s policy platform.

Labour’s Shadow Welsh Secretary Owen Smith, the MP for Pontypridd, said: “Ukip have shown themselves to be a party more Tory than the Tories.

They are reliant on Tory money, Tory people and Tory policies.

If they were to win next year UKIP would raise taxes for working families, allow bankers to take bigger bonuses, make deeper cuts to public services and charge you to see your GP, get rid of workers’ rights including parental leave, maternity pay, holiday pay, sick pay, and even redundancy pay.

“Nigel Farage proudly proclaims that Ukip are the only party keeping the flame of Thatcherism alive but I remember the devastating impact Thatcher had on Wales, and in particular the valleys of south Wales.

“That’s why we will never shy away from exposing them for what they are wherever they go in Wales.

“And why when May comes, I believe people across Wales will support the only party to stand up for working people – Labour.”

A spokesman for Ukip said: “We’re entertained and amused by the welcome Welsh Labour is giving us as we organise our conference at Port Talbot.

“The fact is that the people of Wales are warming to Ukip, and at the European Parliament election we were less than 1% behind Labour, as well as significantly beating Plaid Cymru. We have definitely become a force to be reckoned with in Wales.

“If you look at the studies about Ukip’s support in Wales, it’s no surprise that we are concentrating our efforts in traditional Labour areas.

“The failings of Welsh Labour over the last few years are clear for everyone to see, particularly over the running of the NHS.

“Ukip offers a fresh approach and a new vision that we believe will resonate with voters in Wales.”

Labour is taking the threat from Ukip seriously because polling evidence suggests that while the first tranche of new Ukip supporters were former Conservative voters, more ex-Labour voters are now coming on board.

Altogether, around a quarter of current Ukip voters used to back Labour.

The energy being spent by Labour in combatting Ukip reflects a real fear that its chances of victory next May could be stymied by a pincer movement of defections to the anti-EU party in England and Wales, and to the SNP in Scotland, where the growth in popularity of the Scottish nationalists has come despite the outcome of the independence referendum in September.

Significantly, Labour is seeking to portray Ukip as a hard-line party of the right on issues like the economy and the health service, with no mention of concerns about immigration, the issue that Ukip has exploited with particular success.

Earlier this week Labour AM Rebecca Evans, the Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, confirmed that she would be bidding to get selected as her party’s Assembly candidate for the Caerphilly constituency in 2016.

She is currently a regional AM for Mid & West Wales, but is understood to be concerned at the possibility of losing the seat to Ukip.

In 2016 Ukip is, on current polling form, likely to win a seat in each of the five regions of Wales. Some existing AMs are worried that the arrival of Ukip representatives at Cardiff Bay will change the dynamic of politics at the Assembly.

Some have criticised the “cosy consensus” that sees much cross-party agreement over many issues, as well as cross-party socialising.

Ukip is likely to be much more confrontational in its approach, although under Mr Farage it has dropped its opposition to the Assembly’s existence.

Labour is hoping to persuade its natural supporters in working class areas in particular that they will be betraying their traditional values if they vote for Ukip.

Concentrating on issues like workers’ rights is, however, a tactic that could have limited traction.

Many people in low paid jobs do not have many “add on” benefits to lose, although it is true to say that Mr Farage has made disparaging comments about working women who take maternity leave.

Potentially more damaging to Ukip may be a comment made by Mr Farage in 2012 to the effect that the NHS should be replaced by a system of private health insurance. He has also advocated the introduction of charges when people visit their GP.

For the moment, however, Ukip is riding high, with many working class voters who would never dream of voting Conservative prepared to vote for what many see as a party further to the right on the political spectrum.

Among Ukip’s new supporters is Nick Griffin, the former leader of the BNP who lives near Welshpool in Powys.

On the same day that Ukip was winning more seats than any other party in the European Parliament election, Mr Griffin lost his own seat.

He sees Ukip as the party best equipped to take his anti-immigration agenda forward.