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Fay Jones (politician)

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Fay Jones
Official portrait, 2020
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales
In office
13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byJames Davies
Succeeded byNia Griffith
Assistant Government Whip
In office
27 October 2022 – 13 November 2023
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Member of Parliament
for Brecon and Radnorshire
In office
12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byJane Dodds
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1985-01-18) 18 January 1985 (age 39)
Cardiff, Wales
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Tim Poole
​
(m. 2023)​
ParentGwilym Jones (father)
Alma materKing's College London
Websitefayjones.org.uk

Fay Alicia Jones (born 18 January 1985)[1] is a British former politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire from 2019 to 2024. She is a member of the Conservative Party and a former junior government minister.

Early life and education

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Fay Jones was born in Cardiff in 1985.[1] Her father is Gwilym Jones, who at the time of her birth was the Conservative MP for Cardiff North.[2] She studied French at King's College London.[3]

After graduating from university, Jones' first job was as a researcher for Charles, Prince of Wales.[4][5] In 2012, she moved to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to join the UK negotiating team in the 2011 Common Agricultural Policy reform.[5] She then worked for the National Farmers' Union[6] and for the public relations firm Grayling. Before the 2019 general election she was chair of Public Affairs Cymru, a membership organisation for professionals working in public affairs.[7]

Political career

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In politics, Jones worked for the Conservative Member of the European Parliament Jonathan Evans and the Conservative MP David Jones.[8] In 2019 she was a volunteer in Boris Johnson's campaign for leadership of the Conservative Party.[4] She was third on the party-list in Wales for the Conservatives at the 2019 European Parliament election.[9]

Jones was elected as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire in the 2019 general election, beating the Liberal Democrat incumbent Jane Dodds, who had been the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since 2017. Dodds had won the seat in a by-election in August 2019, which had been triggered by a recall petition after the Conservative MP Chris Davies was convicted for submitting a false expenses claim.[3][10]

Jones has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She established the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Farming. In February 2022, she was made PPS to Mark Spencer, the leader of the House of Commons.[11] She resigned as a PPS during the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.[12]

Jones endorsed Rishi Sunak during the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.[13]

Jones served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Thérèse Coffey, the Deputy Prime Minister between September and October 2022 before being appointed as an Assistant Government Whip by Rishi Sunak a position in which she served until November 2023 when she joined the Wales Office as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,[14] the same role that her father held between 1994 and 1997.

Jones contested the altered constituency of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe at the 2024 general election, but was not elected, with the Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate David Chadwick winning the seat with a majority of 1,472 votes.[15]

Personal life

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Jones lives near Crickhowell, Powys. On 4 November 2023 she married her long-term partner Tim Poole, who serves in the British Army.[16][3][17]

References

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  1. ^ a b The Times Guide to the House of Commons 2019. Glasgow: Times Books. 2020. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1.
  2. ^ "Fay Jones 'over the moon' to win in Brecon and Radnorshire". Brecon & Radnor Express. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ a b c Mosalski, Ruth (13 December 2019). "General Election 2019 result for Brecon and Radnorshire: The new MP and the constituency vote totals". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b Clements, Laura (15 December 2019). "The three female Welsh MPs who made history at the 2019 General Election". WalesOnline. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b "About Fay Jones". Fay Jones. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. ^ Parry, Anwen (17 October 2019). "Conservatives select General Election candidate for Brecon and Radnorshire". County Times. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. ^ "About us". Public Affairs Cymru. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019.
  8. ^ "General Election 2019: Meet Wales' first female Tory MPs". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  9. ^ "General election 2019: Who are the candidates in Wales?". BBC News. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  10. ^ "General election 2019: Tories re-take Brecon and Radnorshire". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Fay Jones becomes PPS to the Leader of the House of Commons". County Times. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  12. ^ Owen, Cathy; Mosalski, Ruth (6 July 2022). "Second Welsh MP quits government job amid further wave of resignations". WalesOnline. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  13. ^ Edwards, Ruth; Jones, Fay; Trott, Laura (11 July 2022). "Sunak will champion women – not erase us". The Times. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Ministerial appointments: November 2023". Gov.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  16. ^ "About Fay Jones". Fay Jones. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  17. ^ Jones, Matt (6 November 2023). "Love is in the air for Powys MP Fay Jones' wedding day". Powys County Times.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fay Jones (politician).
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Brecon and Radnorshire
2019–2024 		Succeeded by
Constituency abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales
2023–2024 		Succeeded by
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