Kirsty Williams - Political Career

Political Career

Williams joined the Liberal Party at the age of 15 and held numerous party posts in her home town of Llanelli, in the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrat Youth and Students. She was Deputy President of the Welsh Liberal Democrats between 1998 and 2000.

In the 1997 General Election she contested the constituency of Ogmore coming third. For a long time she was a keen advocate of a Welsh Assembly, and campaigned hard in the 1997 referendum for the creation of the National Assembly for Wales. She was subsequently appointed to the National Assembly Advisory Group by Welsh Secretary Ron Davies.

In 1998 she succeeded in being selected as the Liberal Democrat Welsh Assembly candidate for the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire. In 1999 she was elected for the constituency in the first ever Welsh Assembly elections. Although there was a slight swing towards the Conservatives, her majority was 5,852 (20.0%).

In her first term she became her party's health spokesman. She also served as Chair of the Welsh Assembly Health and Social Care Committee between 1999 and 2003.

In 2003 she defended the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency with an increased share of the vote, mainly at the expense of the Labour Party.

In the 2006 Welsh Yearbook Political Awards, she was voted "Member to Watch 2006" In a poll at the end of 2006, Williams was voted "Sexiest female Liberal Democrat" on the award-winning blog by Stephen Tall. She backed Sir Menzies Campbell in the 2006 Liberal Democrat leadership election and Nick Clegg in the 2007 Liberal Democrat leadership election.

In the Welsh Assembly elections of 2007, Williams retained the seat of Brecon and Radnorshire polling over 50% of the vote, beating Conservative candidate Suzy Davies into second place. She was the only member of the Welsh Assembly to have increased her share of the vote in each of the first three elections.

On 8 December 2008 Williams became leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, having defeated Cardiff Central Assembly Member Jenny Randerson. She was the first female leader of any of the four big Welsh political parties.

In the Welsh Assembly elections of 2011, Williams retained her seat by polling 43% of the vote, with the Conservatives again second.

In 2011, as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, she agreed to support the Welsh Labour Government's 2012-2013 £14.5bn Budget on the basis, amongst other things, of securing the Welsh Pupil Premium: an extra £20m to spend on the education of the poorest pupils. Teaching Unions welcomed the deal, with ATL Cymru director Philip Dixon saying: "Our children are our future and investment in them is investment for all. Both Labour and the Lib Dems deserve credit for ensuring that our children, especially those in most need, will now get a better start in life."