Political Career
She is a member of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales. Her political interests include environmental issues, social justice, equal opportunities, children's rights and employment.
She unsuccessfully contested the 1992 general election in Islwyn against the then leader of the Labour Party, Neil Kinnock, and the 1997 general election in Montgomeryshire. In 1999 she was elected to the new National Assembly for Wales for the constituency of Llanelli. Prior to being elected as AM for Llanelli she was Senior Development Manager with the Equal Opportunities Commission in Wales.
She was Shadow Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, and a member of the Education and Lifelong Learning Committee, the Equality of Opportunity Committee, the South West Wales Regional Committee and also a member of the Voluntary Sector Partnership during the first term of the National Assembly.
In the 2003 elections to the National Assembly she lost her constituency seat in Llanelli by just 21 votes, but was nevertheless elected for the Mid and West Wales "top-up" region. She was the Shadow Minister for the Environment, Planning and Countryside in the Second Assembly (2003–07). During the 2007 elections to the National Assembly she won back the Llanelli constituency with a majority of 3,884 votes. She lost her sear to Labour's Keith Davies by 80 votes in the National Assembly for Wales election, 2011
In November 2011 she was appointed Chief Executive of Youth Cymru a voluntarty organisation supporting youth work in Wales. She is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Board sent in to Pembrokeshire County Council by the Welsh Government to support and challenge as they improve safeguarding after damaging inspection reports. She remains active in politics, and was elected National Chair of Plaid Cymru in September 2011
Read more about this topic: Helen Mary Jones
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