Lee Waters | |
---|---|
Deputy Minister for Climate Change | |
In office 13 May 2021 –20 March 2024 | |
First Minister | Mark Drakeford |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Office abolished |
Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport | |
In office 14 December 2018 –13 May 2021 | |
First Minister | Mark Drakeford |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Office abolished |
Member of the Senedd for Llanelli | |
Assumed office 6 May 2016 | |
Preceded by | Keith Davies |
Majority | 5,675 (18.8%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Amman Valley,Wales | 12 February 1976
Political party | Welsh Labour and Co-operative |
Children | 2 |
Residence(s) | Brynamman,Amman Valley,Wales |
Alma mater | University of Wales,Aberystwyth |
Occupation | Politician,journalist |
Website | https://www.leeforllanelli.wales |
Lee Waters (born 12 February 1976) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician who served as Deputy Minister for Climate Change from 2021 to 2024. He has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Llanelli since 2016. [1]
Waters grew up in Brynamman in the Aman Valley. [2] [3] His father was a coal miner who was made redundant [4] and his mother was a hairdresser. [2] He has stated he did not grow up in a political or "militant" family but remembered his father, who was supportive of a ballot rather than industrial action at the time, going on strike. [2]
He studied at Amman Valley Comprehensive School [4] and while at school wrote a piece for Wales on Sunday about his fellow students, asking whether they were planning on staying in their community. He found many were keen to leave. [2] He has criticised those who told him at 15 that "if you want to get on, you have to get out". [4]
Waters grew up with an interest in current affairs and kept scrap books of newspapers. [2] He was in a class of three studying politics in school, and later was the only student in the class. [2]
He went to study at University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He joined the Labour Party in 1994 upon starting his studies [2] and went on to the University's Parliamentary Placement Scheme where he worked in Westminster. [2] Upon graduating he took a year out to work for his local MP Dr Alan Williams during the 1997 general election. [2] This was followed by an internship in the United States House of Representatives as an ESU Capitol Hill Scholar for a summer. [2] [5]
After graduating, Waters received multiple job offers: from the PPS to the Secretary of State for Wales Nick Ainger, from Peter Hain MP, and from Welsh Secretary Ron Davies MP. He went on to work as the Political Secretary to Davies in August 1998 as part of the leadership campaign between him and Rhodri Morgan. [2] [5] Davies won the election for leader, but resigned from it and the Cabinet a month later after his "moment of madness" in 1998. [6]
He then joined BBC Wales news as a researcher and then radio producer on Good Morning Wales. In 2001 Waters joined the ITV Wales political unit where he reported as a lobby correspondent and presented the weekly politics programme Waterfront, becoming chief political correspondent. [7] He stated he moved out of the industry after he lost interest in learning shorthand and did not see it as a job "for a grown up". [2]
He chaired the Governing body of the highly regarded Barry Island Primary School for over seven years. [8]
In 2007, he became Director of the green transport organisation, Sustrans Cymru. [9]
Waters joined sustainable cycling charity Sustrans Cymru in January 2007. [10] He led a campaign involving his organisation Sustrans Cymru, the BMA, and the NAHT, who wrote a joint letter arguing for an independent commission to review whether the National Assembly for Wales was underfunded. [10] This campaign formed the groundwork for the Holtham Commission. [10]
He was Vice-Chair of the successful 2011 Yes for Wales campaign, [11] leading on communications for the campaign after being appointed to the cross-party steering committee by the First Minister.
In 2013, he was appointed the director of the Welsh independent think-tank, the Institute of Welsh Affairs. [12] [13] Upon joining the organisation he found it to be "nearly bankrupt" with tired staff and three months of funding left, [2] and described his time in the role as highly fundraising-orientated. [2] During his three years leading the independent policy institute he refreshed the charity, stabiliisng its finances, overhauling its systems and setting a new strategy. He edited the magazine, the Welsh Agenda, and contributed to the pioneering of crowdsourcing in policy development. He left the role in 2016 in order to campaign to become the Senedd Member for Llanelli, [14] a race which he won with a majority of 382. [15]
In December 2018 he became Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport with additional responsibility for the Welsh Government's Strategic Communications. He led work on creating a Digital Strategy for Wales and in developing the Foundational Economy including a £4.5m Challenge Fund to trial new approaches. [16]
Along with Julie James, the Minister for Climate Change, Waters announced in 2021 a freeze on all new road building projects in Wales pending a Welsh government review. The decision is motivated by the government's goal to cut emissions. Both Plaid and Conservative MS' voiced concerns about the plan.
In 2023, as a Welsh Government minister, Waters accidentally voted against the government, with Waters describing it as "embarrassing and frustrating". [17]
In March 2024, Waters announced his intention to resign from his position as Deputy Minister for Climate Change. near the conclusion of the 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election, as well as announcing he would be deleting his X (Twitter) account due to unpleasant comments. Andrew RT Davies, opposition and Welsh Conservative leader, described his announcement to be a "sigh of relief" to motorists and business owners, due to Waters' policies during his time in the position. [18]
He vehemently opposed the M4 Relief Road which he viewed as failing to improve transport within Wales. [19] He was critical of the decision taken by the UK Government under Theresa May to remove the tolls on the Severn crossings, stating it would "lead to six million more vehicles a year" on the roads, and that Westminster were "unleashing" extra traffic to try to incentivise the construction of the M4 Relief Road. [20]
He is instead involved in Government projects including the South Wales Metro and improving bus services which make up the majority of public transport ridership in Wales. [21]
Waters hopes to overhaul bus transport in Wales through integrating services and focusing on passengers. He is the minister responsible for the consultation, which opened alongside the publication of the white paper "One Network, One Timetable, One Ticket: Planning Buses as a Public Service for Wales". [22]
Waters was a central figure in the introduction of a 20mph limit across most previously 30mph zones on Welsh roads. Its introduction faced public opposition, although Waters claimed attitudes were changing on the policy. [18]
Waters has been a proponent of the concept of the foundational economy. The concept was developed by the University of Manchester's Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change. Bowman and Froud et al describe the theory as focussing on health education and welfare, as well as "mundane activities like utilities, retail and food processing which produce necessary everyday goods and services which are used by everybody regardless of income or social status." [23] It "focuses on how the sheltered sectors of the economy can be reorganised in ways that generate welfare gains and diffuse prosperity" after years of UK policies which its authors state failed to create competition and markets and instead focussed on job creation and GDP growth alone. [23]
Waters support for alternative economic thinking has produced eye catching headlines, after his comments in June 2019 that stated the Government has "pretended we know what we're doing on the economy" for 20 years. [24] His speech stated that "all the orthodox tools we can think of at growing the economy in the conventional way" have only produced static GDP over 20 years across the UK. [24] Plaid Cymru stated the comments were "remarkable", while the Welsh Conservatives described them as "deeply concerning", however the First Minister Mark Drakeford defended Waters by saying he was right to reject the old ways of thinking especially as Wales faces "the global shifts of increased mechanisation, automation and of course, Brexit." [24]
Waters opposes Welsh independence, but has said that his party has dismissed independence supporters as "separatists" for too long. During an appearance on the Hiraeth podcast, he said:
"I think there's a real challenge for the Labour Party to properly engage with this, and for too long that too many people in the party have dismissed independence as about separatism, as if this kind of gets you off the hook from intellectual engagement with the issue. You just call them separatists and therefore suddenly you’re off the hook from engaging with the issues and I just think that won't wash anymore." [25]
He has two children and resides in the Penarth area, with a house in Llanelli. [26] He is a member of the GMB Union. [27]
Plaid Cymru is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.
The Senedd, officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and Senedd Cymru in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees to certain taxes, and scrutinises the Welsh Government. It is a bilingual institution, with both Welsh and English being the official languages of its business. From its creation in May 1999 until May 2020, the Senedd was officially known as the National Assembly for Wales and often simply called the Welsh Assembly.
Adam Robert Price is a Welsh politician who served as Leader of Plaid Cymru from September 2018 to May 2023. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 2016, having previously been a Member of Parliament (MP) for the same Westminster constituency from 2001 to 2010.
Helen Mary Jones is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the Senedd from 1999 to 2011 and again from August 2018 until 29 April 2021.
Mair Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely is a Welsh Labour politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in the Welsh Government since 2021. Morgan has served as a Member of the House of Lords since 2011 and as a Member of the Senedd (MS) since 2016. She was previously Minister for the Welsh Language from 2017 to 2021, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing from 2020 to 2021, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1994 to 2009.
Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (UK).
Leighton Andrews is an academic and former Welsh Labour politician. He was the National Assembly for Wales member for Rhondda from 2003 until 2016. He was Minister for Children, Education & Lifelong Learning from 2009 to 2011, then Minister for Education and Skills in the Welsh Government until his resignation on 25 June 2013 after an alleged conflict between his own departmental policy and his active campaigning to save a school in his constituency. In September 2014 he returned to the government as Minister for Public Services.
Welsh independence is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Thomas Alun Rhys Davies is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative party politician serving as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Blaenau Gwent since 2011, and formerly Mid and West Wales from 2007 to 2011. He has served in several Welsh government offices, including Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services, Minister for Lifelong Learning and Welsh Language, and Minister for Natural Resources and Food.
David Rees "Dai" Lloyd is a retired Welsh politician and GP. He was the Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for South Wales West from 1999 to 2011 and again between 2016 and 2021.
Propel is a sovereignist and Welsh nationalist political party in Wales which advocates Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. The party was formed in early 2020 by its current leader Neil McEvoy. Propel currently has one county councillor in Wales.
Mick Antoniw is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, serving as Counsel General for Wales since 2021, having previously served in the position from 2016 to 2017. He previously served as Minister for the Constitution from 2021 to 2024. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Pontypridd since 2011.
Jeremy Miles is a Welsh Labour Co-op politician, serving as Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language since 2024. He previously served in the Welsh Government as Counsel General for Wales from 2017 to 2021, Brexit Minister from 2018 to 2021, and the Minister for coordinating Wales’ recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2021. Miles has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Neath since 2016.
Mark Drakeford is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2018 to 2024. He previously served in the Welsh Government as Cabinet Secretary for Finance from 2016 to 2018 and Minister for Health and Social Services from 2013 to 2016. Drakeford was first elected as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Cardiff West in 2011 and is considered to be on the soft left of Labour.
The 2016 National Assembly for Wales election was held on Thursday 5 May 2016, to elect members (AMs) of the National Assembly for Wales, now known as the Senedd. It was the fifth election for the National Assembly, the third election taken under the rules of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and the first since the Wales Act 2014.
Neil John McEvoy is a Welsh nationalist politician, serving as leader of Propel since 2020, and as a Cardiff Councillor for the Fairwater ward since 2008.
Jayne Bryant is a Welsh Labour Party politician. Since May 2016 she has represented Newport West in the Senedd.
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.
Nation.Cymru (transl. Nation.Wales) is a Welsh news service established in 2017 with the aim of creating a national English-language news service for Wales. It receives £20,000 a year from the Books Council of Wales and the rest of its financial support comes from 1,000 monthly subscribers to the site.
The Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) is an independent charity and membership-based think-tank based Cardiff, Wales, which specialises in public policy and debate around the economy, education, environment and health sectors in Wales.