Mark Williams (politician)

Mark Fraser Williams (born 24 March 1966) is a British Welsh Liberal Democrat politician and former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ceredigion constituency, a seat he gained from Plaid Cymru in 2005 and then lost again to Ben Lake of Plaid Cymru in the 2017 General Election. He sat on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, and in 2006 he became a Shadow Minister for Wales under Menzies Campbell.

Mark Williams
Williams in 2009
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats
In office 8 May 2016 – 16 June 2017
Preceded by	Kirsty Williams
Succeeded by	Jane Dodds
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Wales
In office 8 May 2016 – 16 June 2017
Leader	Tim Farron
Preceded by	Kirsty Williams
Succeeded by	The Baroness Humphreys
Member of Parliament for Ceredigion
In office 5 May 2005 – 9 June 2017
Preceded by	Simon Thomas
Succeeded by	Ben Lake
Personal details
Born	(1966-03-24) 24 March 1966 Hertfordshire, England
Political party	Liberal Democrats
Alma mater	Aberystwyth University Plymouth University
Website	Official website

Mark Williams is a graduate of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University of Plymouth, and was Deputy Headteacher of a school in Llangorse near Brecon before becoming an MP.

Early life

Mark Williams was born in Hertfordshire on 24 March 1966. His mother worked as a classroom assistant, and his father ran a printing business. He has two older sisters. He attended the local village primary school and then Richard Hale Secondary School, Hertford, from where he moved on to the University of Wales, Aberystwyth in 1984 to study politics.[1] It was at school during the days of the SDP-Liberal Alliance that he become involved in Liberal politics, later saying:

"I instinctively knew I wasn’t a Conservative, despite coming from a formally conservative family and the Labour Party was in perpetual decline."

Political career

Within a week of arriving in Aberystwyth, Williams became secretary of the student group and had met local Liberal MP Geraint Howells. After graduating, he became a part-time researcher to the Liberal Peers in the House of Lords,[1] but was determined to stay in Ceredigion and spent half the week and all Parliamentary holidays as assistant to Geraint Howells in Ceredigion until Howells lost Ceredigion in the 1992 General Election.

He then returned to student life at the teacher training college in Exmouth, part of the University of Plymouth. After securing this qualification he taught in primary schools in Penzance and Barnstaple before becoming a Deputy Head teacher in Llangors School, Powys, in 2000.[1] During this time Williams fought Monmouth at the 1997 general election, finishing third.

In February 2000, after a spell as President of Ceredigion Liberal Democrats, Williams was selected to fight the Ceredigion seat in the by-election caused by the resignation of Cynog Dafis. In that by-election the Liberal Democrats rose back into second place, and in the general election of 2001 consolidated that second, and were just 3,944 votes behind Plaid Cymru. In May 2005, 13 years after Geraint Howells had been defeated, the Liberal Democrats regained Ceredigion with Mark Williams as MP by a very narrow majority of 219 votes.[2] Williams is the first non-Welsh-speaking Member of Parliament to represent the constituency since the widening of the electoral franchise in 1867. In 2010, Williams substantially increased his majority, winning just over 50% of the vote; this was the first time any candidate had won more than 50% of the vote in Ceredigion since 1959.

Williams sat on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee between 2005 and 2017[3] and held various shadow ministerial roles in the 2005–2010 Parliament.

He called for Saint David's Day to be made a public holiday in Wales.[4]

He proposed a private member's bill with the backing of a leading charity to update child protection legislation. It will amend the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 because it only covers physical harm and does not cover psychological neglect.[5] The bill is backed by Action for Children.[6]

Williams was defeated in the 2017 general election by Ben Lake of Plaid Cymru, whose majority of 104 made the seat one of the most marginal in the country. The result left the Liberal Democrat Party without an MP in Wales, a situation which had not existed since the founding of the Liberal Party in 1859.[7] He resigned as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats shortly after.

Williams unsuccessful re-contensted Ceredigion in the next general election, following the election he paid tribute to his Plaid Cymru opponent and then subsequently announced he would not stand for parliament again.[8]

Electoral history

Westminister Parliament elections

Date of election	Constituency		Party	Votes	% of votes	Result
1997 election	Monmouth		Liberal Democrats	4,689	9.6	Not elected
February 2000 by-election	Ceredigion		Liberal Democrats	5,768	23.0	Not elected
2001 election	Ceredigion		Liberal Democrats	9,297	36.5	Not elected
2005 election	Ceredigion		Liberal Democrats	13,130	36.5	Elected
2010 election	Ceredigion		Liberal Democrats	19,139	50.0	Elected
2015 election	Ceredigion		Liberal Democrats	13,414	35.9	Elected
2017 election	Ceredigion		Liberal Democrats	11,519	29.0	Defeated
2019 election	Ceredigion		Liberal Democrats	6,975	17.4	Not elected

Family life

Mark Williams and his wife Helen have four children, Eleanor, Anna, and twins Eliza and Oliver.[9]

References

1. "Profile". London: Guardian Unlimited. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
2. "Lib Dems win Cardiff, Ceredigion". BBC News. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
3. "Mark Williams". Parliament UK. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
4. "St David's Day Debate". BBC – Democracy Live. BBC. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
5. Williamson, David (24 June 2013). "Child neglect law overhaul bid spearheaded by Welsh MP to tackle out-of-date 'failings'". Wales Online.
6. "Help make the law on child neglect fit for purpose in the 21st century - BritMums". 5 June 2013.
7. "No Liberal MP in Wales for the first time since 1859". BBC. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
8. http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/article.cfm?id=131673&headline=Ben%20Lake%20re%2Delected%20as%20MP%20for%20Ceredigion&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2019&cat=Politics
9. "Liberal Democrats: Mark Williams". 20 January 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2015.

External links

• Mark Williams AS/MP official constituency website
• Profile at the Welsh Liberal Democrats
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Simon Thomas	Member of Parliament for Ceredigion 2005–2017	Succeeded by Ben Lake
Party political offices
Preceded by Kirsty Williams	Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats 2016–2017	Succeeded by Kirsty Williams