Frontbench Team of Kirsty Williams | |
---|---|
![]() Frontbench Team of the National Assembly for Wales | |
December 2008–May 2016 | |
![]() Williams' official portrait, 2011 | |
Date formed | 11 December 2008 |
Date dissolved | 5 May 2016 |
People and organisations | |
Leader | Kirsty Williams |
Member party | |
Status in legislature | Opposition party 6 / 60 (10%) (2008) 5 / 60 (8%) (2011) |
History | |
Legislature terms | 3rd National Assembly for Wales 4th National Assembly for Wales |
Predecessor | Second Frontbench Team of Mike German |
Successor | None [lower-alpha 1] |
Kirsty Williams, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, formed her frontbench team of party spokespeople in the National Assembly for Wales on 11 December 2008 after she was elected to succeed Mike German as party leader on 8 December. She reshuffled her frontbench team after the 2011 National Assembly for Wales election before her party's seat share was reduced from five to one at the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election, with Williams becoming the party's sole assembly member (AM).
In the aftermath of the 2016 assembly election, Williams participated in the 2016 Welsh government formation as the deciding vote in the renomination of Carwyn Jones as first minister. Afterwards, Jones brought Williams into his third government. She also served under his successor Mark Drakeford before standing down at the 2021 Senedd election, [lower-alpha 2] where her party once again returned a single seat in the legislature, this time with Jane Dodds as the only Welsh Liberal Democrat elected into office.
Kirsty Williams was elected to the National Assembly for Wales at the 1999 National Assembly for Wales election. She was a member of Mike German's first and second frontbench teams of party spokespeople in the assembly. After German announced his resignation in 2008, Williams stood in the leadership election to succeed him as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. She defeated the runner-up Jenny Randerson in the election and became the new leader of the party. At the time of her election, Williams was the first woman to lead a political party in Wales. Her party had six assembly members (AMs) in the National Assembly at the time of her election.
Williams formed her frontbench team of party spokespeople on 11 December 2008. Her leadership rival Jenny Randerson was made the spokesperson for the economy and transport and the spokesperson for education, children, lifelong learning and skills. Peter Black was appointed as the group's business manager and as its spokesperson for health and local government. Other appointments to the frontbench included Eleanor Burnham as spokesperson for communities, culture and equality and Mick Bates as spokesperson for environment, sustainability and rural affairs. [1] [2] Commenting on her frontbench team, Williams said she appointed Randerson to the economy portfolio as the "economy is the number one issue in politics today". [1]
On 8 February 2010, Bates was dismissed from the frontbench after he was accused of assault and put under a police investigation over an alleged incident on 20 January 2010. [3] A mini-reshuffle followed, with former leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Mike German appointed to replace Bates in the frontbench team, taking on his portfolio in the environment, sustainability and rural affairs. [2] Bates had already announced his intention to retire from the assembly at the 2011 National Assembly for Wales election in the previous year. [4] German left the assembly in May 2010 to take up a seat in the House of Lords, with his seat in the assembly being taken by his wife the Welsh Liberal Democrat politician Veronica German. A reshuffle followed on 24 July 2010, with Williams becoming spokesperson for environment and rural affairs and appointing Veronica German as spokesperson for health, local government and equal opportunities. Peter Black remained business manager but became spokesperson for housing and finance. Other appointments included Eleanor Burnham as spokesperson for communities, culture, social justice and European affairs and Jenny Randerson as spokesperson for the economy and education. [5]
At the assembly election in May 2011, the Welsh Liberal Democrats' share of seats was reduced from six to five. [6] On 11 July 2011, Williams reshuffled the party's frontbench team in the assembly. [7] All five Liberal Democrat AMs were given portfolios. Williams appointed herself as spokesperson for health and social care. Peter Black was appointed as spokesperson for local government, heritage, housing and finance and remained business manager. Newly elected AMs Elunded Parrott, Aled Roberts and William Powell were made spokesperson for enterprise, transport, Europe and business, spokesperson for children, education and the Welsh language, and spokesperson for environment, sustainability and rural affairs respectively. [7] [8]
At the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election in May 2016 the Welsh Liberal Democrats lost four of its five seats, with Williams being the only Welsh Liberal Democrat who was returned to office at the election. [9] [10] In the aftermath of the election, Williams held the deciding vote in the assembly vote to nominate a first minister during the 2016 Welsh government formation. The incumbent first minister Carwyn Jones of the Labour Party put himself forward for renomination but this was challenged by the nomination of Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, which was supported by the Welsh Conservatives and the UK independence Party. [9] [10] Williams voted for Jones' renomination as first minster, producing an overall tie, which secured him with enough time to negotiate a deal with Plaid to win a second vote and secure another term in office, thereby preventing the fall of his Labour government. [11] [9] [12] On 19 May 2016, Jones formed a new cabinet and appointed Williams as the new cabinet secretary for education and skills. [9] She remained in the government under his successor Mark Drakeford with her post retitled to minister for education. [13] Williams stood down at the 2021 Senedd election [lower-alpha 2] with her party once again returning a single seat in the legislature, this time with Jane Dodds as the only Welsh Liberal Democrat elected into office. [14]
Portfolio | Spokesperson | Constituency | Term | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats | ![]() | Kirsty Williams AM | Brecon and Radnorshire | December 2008–May 2016 | |
Welsh Liberal Democrat Group Business Manager | ![]() | Peter Black AM | South Wales West | December 2008–May 2016 | |
Spokesperson for Health and Local Government | December 2008–July 2010 | ||||
Spokesperson for the Economy and Transport Spokesperson for Education, Children, Lifelong Learning & Skills | ![]() | Jenny Randerson AM | Cardiff Central | December 2008–July 2010 | |
Spokesperson for Communities, Culture and Equality | ![]() | Eleanor Burnham AM | North Wales | December 2008–July 2010 | |
Spokesperson for Environment, Sustainability and Rural Affairs | ![]() | Mick Bates AM | Montgomeryshire | December 2008–February 2010 | |
![]() | Mike German AM | South Wales East | February 2010–July 2010 | ||
Portfolio | Spokesperson | Constituency | Term | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats | ![]() | Kirsty Williams AM | Brecon and Radnorshire | December 2008–May 2016 | |
Spokesperson for Environment and Rural Affairs | July 2010–May 2011 | ||||
Welsh Liberal Democrat Group Business Manager | ![]() | Peter Black AM | South Wales West | December 2008–May 2016 | |
Spokesperson for Housing and Finance | July 2010–May 2011 | ||||
Spokesperson for the Economy and Education | ![]() | Jenny Randerson AM | Cardiff Central | July 2010–May 2011 | |
Spokesperson for Communities, Culture, Social Justice and European affairs | ![]() | Eleanor Burnham AM | North Wales | July 2010–May 2011 | |
Spokesperson for Health, Local Government and Equal Opportunities | ![]() | Veronica German AM | South Wales East | July 2010–May 2011 | |
Portfolio | Spokesperson | Constituency | Term | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats | ![]() | Kirsty Williams AM | Brecon and Radnorshire | December 2008–May 2016 | |
Spokesperson for Health and Social Care | July 2011–May 2016 | ||||
Welsh Liberal Democrat Group Business Manager | ![]() | Peter Black AM | South Wales West | December 2008–May 2016 | |
Spokesperson for Local Government, Heritage, Housing and Finance | July 2011–May 2016 | ||||
Spokesperson for Enterprise, Transport, Europe and Business | ![]() | Eluned Parrott AM | South Wales Central | July 2011–May 2016 | |
Spokesperson for Children, Education and the Welsh Language | ![]() | Aled Roberts AM | North Wales | July 2011–May 2016 | |
Spokesperson for Environment, Sustainability and Rural Affairs | ![]() | William Powell AM | Mid and West Wales | July 2011–May 2016 |
In British politics, a Lib–Lab pact is a working arrangement between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party.
Michael James German, Baron German is a Welsh politician who was Deputy First Minister of Wales from 2000 to 2001 and 2002 to 2003 and Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 1998 to 2008, first as its de facto leader until 2007 and then as its official leader from 2007. He was also Minister for Economic Development from 2000 to 2001 and Minister for Rural Affairs and Wales Abroad from 2002 to 2003. German was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999 where he was Assembly Member (AM) for South Wales East until 2010 and led his party group until 2008. In 2010, he was granted a life peerage and joined the House of Lords as a working peer for the Liberal Democrats. He was the first-ever deputy first minister of Wales.
Jennifer Elizabeth Randerson, Baroness Randerson is a Welsh Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. She is a former junior minister in the Wales Office serving in the Cameron–Clegg coalition. Prior to her peerage she was an Assembly Member for Cardiff Central from 1999 to 2011 when she served in the Welsh Labour-Lib Dem administration of the 2000–2003 Welsh Assembly Government.
Victoria Kirstyn Williams is a Welsh politician who served as Minister for Education in the Welsh Government from 2016 to 2021. She was a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 1999 to 2021. She previously served as the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from December 2008 to May 2016 and subsequently from June 2017 to November 2017 in an acting capacity.
Peter Malcolm Black is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician, and was a Member of the Welsh Assembly for the South Wales West Region between 1999 and 2016.
Carwyn Howell Jones is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Bridgend from 1999 to 2021.
Welsh Labour, formerly known as the Labour Party in Wales, is an autonomous section of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears have won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1922, every Assembly and Senedd election since 1999, and all elections to the European Parliament in the period 1979–2004 and in 2014. Welsh Labour holds 22 of the 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, 30 of the 60 seats in the Welsh Senedd and 576 of the 1,264 councillors in principal local authorities including overall control of 10 of the 22 principal local authorities.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to December 2019, and MS for Mid and West Wales since May 2021. The party currently has 1 elected member in the Senedd and no Welsh seats in the UK House of Commons, but does have several members of the House of Lords. The party had 69 local councilors serving in principal authorities as of the 2022 local authority elections, up 10 from 2017.
The 2011 National Assembly for Wales election was an election for the National Assembly. The poll was held on 5 May 2011 and decided the incumbency for all the Assembly's seats. It was the fourth election for seats in the National Assembly for Wales, and the second election taken under the rules of the Government of Wales Act 2006.
Veronica Kathleen German, Baroness German is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician who was a Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for the South Wales East region between 2010 and 2011.
William Powell is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician. He has been a Powys County Councillor since 2004, and was a member of the Member of the Welsh Assembly (AM) for the Mid and West Wales Region from 2011 to 2016.
Tim Farron succeeded Nick Clegg as Leader of the Liberal Democrats on 29 July 2015, unveiling his Frontbench Team shortly afterwards. Farron conducted his first reshuffle on 28 October 2016. A second reshuffle was conducted on 8 May 2017. In July of the same year Farron resigned and was succeeded by Vince Cable.
This is a list of Assembly Memberselected to the fifth National Assembly for Wales at the 2016 election. In May 2020, the representatives were renamed to Members of the Seneddin the fifth Senedd, they would be known as the fifth Senedd for the remainder of their term. From the 2021 election members would be elected under this new title of Senedd. There are a total of 60 members elected, 40 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 20 members being returned from five regions, each electing four AMs through mixed member proportional representation. In between elections, members of the legislature may not necessarily be of the same party or the same candidate elected in 2016.
The third Jones government was a Labour–Liberal Democrat coalition government formed after the 2016 general election in Wales. On 14 October 2016, Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru in order to support the coalition government and to give them a ruling majority; he later sat as an independent in the Senedd. The government was replaced by the Drakeford government on 13 December 2018, following the resignation of Carwyn Jones as First Minister the previous day.
The 2021 Senedd election took place on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect 60 members to the Senedd. It was the sixth devolved general election since the Senedd was established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Scottish Parliament election, English local elections, London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.
Jane Dodds is a Welsh politician who has served as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since 2017. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire at the seat's 2019 by-election, but was an MP for only three months before being defeated in the general election later the same year. In May 2021, Dodds was elected to the Senedd on the Mid and West Wales list. She is the only Liberal Democrat MS in the Senedd.
The 2008 Welsh Liberal Democrats leadership election took place in the autumn of 2008 following the resignation of Mike German. Two Assembly Members contested the leadership Jenny Randerson and Kirsty Williams.
Mike German, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrat Group in the National Assembly for Wales, formed his second frontbench team of party spokespeople on 8 May 2003 after the dissolution of his party's coalition government with Rhodri Morgan's Welsh Labour following the 2003 National Assembly for Wales election. Richards had already formed a frontbench team before entering coalition, when his party became an opposition party after the 1999 National Assembly for Wales election before forming the coalition with Labour in October 2000.
Mike German, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrat Group in the National Assembly for Wales, formed his frontbench team of party spokespeople on 13 May 1999. German had led his party into the 1999 National Assembly for Wales election after being elected as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrat Group in 1998. This was his first frontbench team in the assembly, with it dissolving after the party entered government in October 2000. He formed a second frontbench team after his party returned to opposition in May 2003.
Ieuan Wyn Jones, the leader of Plaid Cymru, formed his frontbench team of party spokespeople in the National Assembly for Wales on 25 May 2011 after the dissolution of his party's coalition government with Rhodri Morgan and Carwyn Jones' Welsh Labour following the 2011 National Assembly for Wales election. Jones had previously led a shadow cabinet before entering coalition from 2000 to 2007, when his party had served as the Official Opposition since the 1999 National Assembly for Wales election.