Helen Mary Jones

Helen Mary Jones AM
Member of the Welsh Assembly for Mid and West Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 August 2018
Preceded by	Simon Thomas
In office 1 May 2003 – 3 May 2007
Preceded by	Cynog Dafis
Succeeded by	Nerys Evans
Member of the Welsh Assembly for Llanelli
In office 3 May 2007 – 5 May 2011
Preceded by	Catherine Thomas
Succeeded by	Keith Davies
In office 6 May 1999 – 1 May 2003
Preceded by	New Assembly
Succeeded by	Catherine Thomas
Personal details
Born	(1960-06-29) 29 June 1960 Colchester, England
Nationality	Welsh
Political party	Plaid Cymru
Alma mater	Aberystwyth University

Helen Mary Jones (born 29 June 1960) is a Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2011 and again from August 2018.

Background

Jones was born in Colchester, Essex. She was educated at Colchester County High School for Girls, Llanfair Caereinion High School in Powys and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She has taught in the special education field and has held various positions in youth, community and social work.

Political career

She is a member of Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales and a former deputy leader. 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 seat 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 voluntary 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 was elected National Chair of Plaid Cymru in September 2011.

In October 2014, it was announced she would be the candidate for the 2016 Assembly elections for the Llanelli constituency again. In the National Assembly for Wales election, 2016, she lost to Welsh Labour candidate Lee Waters by 382 votes.

She returned to the Assembly in August 2018 to represent Mid and West Wales following the resignation of Simon Thomas.

External links

• Profile on BBC website September 1999
• Profile on Plaid Cymru website
• Personal website