Political career
London
Dodds moved to London in early 2000 and was a member of the Labour Party until 2003. Being a strong opponent of military intervention,she left the party following its decision to take part in the invasion of Iraq in early 2003. [2] In 2005 she joined the Liberal Democrats following a meeting with Susan Kramer –who was at the time the Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park –and quickly became active in the local Richmond party.
Dodds stood for Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council for the Liberal Democrats in the 2006 local elections,and was elected as one of three councillors in the North Richmond ward. [3] In 2008 she was appointed as Cabinet Member for Performance in the Lib Dem-run administration,where she was responsible for the performance of the authority and ensuring that residents obtained value for money. [4] She narrowly failed to retain her seat in 2010 by a narrow margin of 19 votes,despite obtaining the highest vote among the three Liberal Democrat candidates.
She also contested a by-election for the same ward in 2012,following the resignation of one of the sitting Conservative councillors. During the by-election she was the victim of false leaflets produced in her name,which were produced to look like official Liberal Democrat literature. [5] She narrowly missed out on re-election by 146 votes. [6]
Mishandling of child sexual abuse case
A report published in 2021 found that Dodds had made "a grave error of judgement" by not pursuing a meeting to discuss a particular sexual abuse case involving a late former bishop who sexually abused at least 18 victims over a 15-year period when Dodds worked for the Church of England. [19] This information came to light in November 2024 after the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned over his failure to report prolific child abuser John Smyth. [17]
On 17 November 2024,Dodds said that she would not resign as Welsh Lib Dem leader despite the party's UK leader,Sir Ed Davey,saying that she should consider her position. Davey said he had spoken to Dodds and been “really clear to her about what I think she should do”. [20] She said that she has the confidence of the party's Welsh Board. The Welsh party's President,Tim Sly,has also said that Dodds has its complete confidence. [19]
Dodds said she would "continue fighting for the people of Wales" as the party's Welsh leader and that she "accepted at the time that there were shortcomings in organising meetings about this case" and "acknowledged" them in the report. She stated that child protection is her life's work and wholeheartedly apologised to the victims. [17]
Political positions
Health
In the Senedd,Jane Dodds has been critical of Welsh Labour's running of the NHS,campaigning against long ambulance waiting times,particularly in rural areas such as her own constituency of Mid and West Wales where services are generally poorer than their urban counterparts. [21] [22] Dodds has called for a priority in investment in social care across Wales in order to reduce stress on A&E services and ambulances being backed up because patients cannot be discharged from emergency departments. [23]
Dodds has called for the extension of safe staffing levels for nursing in Wales to cover mental health inpatient wards and community nursing. [24] The original legislation on safe staffing levels for nurses was introduced by former Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Kirsty Williams in 2016. [25]
Since being elected to the Senedd,Jane Dodds has focused heavily on improving access to dental care in Wales stating that dental care in Wales has "all but collapsed" and that Welsh Labour have allowed a "two-tier system where the well-off can afford to go private and those,who are probably in the highest need,on lower incomes are left waiting in agony for treatment,unable to register for an NHS dentist". [26] [27]
To solve the dentist crisis,Dodds presented a plan calling for a number of measures including:training more dental nurses and hygienists and widening the scale of work they are allowed to carry out;increasing per-capita spending from the current £47 to match the levels of Scotland (£55) and Northern Ireland (£57);setting health board targets for waiting times and appointments and integrating primary dental care more closely with other NHS primary care. [28]
Rural affairs and agriculture
Dodds opposed the UK Conservative Government's trade deals with Australia and New Zealand,stating they were one-sided and that the Conservatives had sold Welsh farmers down the river by allowing cheaper products with lower standards into the UK market. She also called for future trade deals to be put to the UK Parliament for a vote and for impact assessments to be carried out on the impact of trade deals for all regions of the UK. [29]
In 2023,Jane Dodds secured a key amendment to the Welsh Agriculture Bill to ensure there is Welsh Government support available to farmers who are looking to establish small-scale renewable energy production on their land and to support the agricultural industry in making changes to increase energy efficiency in their businesses. [30]
The environment and public transport
Jane Dodds supports action on climate change and has opposed to opening of new coal mines in Wales and has called on the Welsh and UK Government's to prioritise investment in new industries,such as green hydrogen,in former mining communities. [31]
Dodds is supportive of greater investment in offshore wind power in Wales alongside small-scale hydropower and tidal power. She has also called for the cutting of red tape on planning rules for offshore wind in order to boost moves towards a "green industrial revolution". [32]
Dodds has opposed potential cuts by the Welsh Labour Government to bus services in Wales,a move which she has stated would leave rural communities like hers even more isolated. [33] She has also supported the concept of free-travel for under-25s to tackle climate change,increase social mobility and revitalise routes with low ridership. [34] She has also called on the Welsh Government to investigate subsidised public transport,pointing to similar schemes in Spain and Germany. [35]
Jane Dodds has supported proposals to re-open the Aberystwyth-Carmarthen rail line pointing out that it would cost a fraction of the Barnett formula consequentials Wales should in her opinion receive from HS2. [36]
Dodds has campaigned for the introduction of hourly rail services on the Cambrian Line in Montgomeryshire and Ceredigion. [37]
Foreign policy
Jane Dodds opposed and campaigned against Brexit. [41] She has since supported rebuilding economic ties with the EU,restoring freedom of movement and eventually rejoining the single market. [42]
Dodds was against the 2003 invasion of Iraq and left the Labour Party due to its role in the invasion. [2]
Dodds is a supporter of global human rights and has criticised the Welsh Labour Government for engaging with authoritarian regimes,including criticising Welsh Labour Leader Mark Drakeford for being one of the only UK politicians to visit Qatar during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. [43] [44]
Jane Dodds has expressed support for Ukraine following Russia's invasion of the country and has called on the UK Government to continue to arm Ukraine as well as provide financial support,do more to sanction Russia and support Ukrainian refugees in the UK. [45] [46]
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