Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones | |
---|---|
Ynys Môn | |
In office 6 May 1999 – 20 June 2013 | |
Preceded by | Constituency Created |
Succeeded by | Rhun ap Iorwerth |
Majority | 2,937 (12.2%) |
Member of Parliament for Ynys Môn | |
In office 11 June 1987 – 14 May 2001 | |
Preceded by | Keith Best |
Succeeded by | Albert Owen |
Personal details | |
Born | Denbigh, Denbighshire, Wales | 22 May 1949
Political party | Plaid Cymru |
Spouse | Eirian Llwyd |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | Liverpool Polytechnic |
Signature | |
Website | Official website |
Ieuan Wyn Jones (born 22 May 1949) is a
In 2017 he unsuccessfully sought to return to the House of Commons for his former constituency.Background and style
Family, education, and early career
Ieuan Wyn Jones was born in Denbigh, Wales, and is a Welsh speaker.[3] He has lived in both north and south Wales. Jones's early education was at Pontardawe Grammar School and at Ysgol y Berwyn in Bala, Gwynedd.[4] Jones's brother Rhisiart said "The time we spent living in Garnswllt (between Ammanford, in Carmarthenshire, and Pontarddulais, in Swansea) was a very happy time for us as a family,"[3] adding "Many people think that Ieuan is just a 'gog' but parts of south Wales are very close to his heart."[3]
In England Jones studied law at Liverpool Polytechnic where he secured an external London University law degree. He qualified as a solicitor in 1973 with second class honours in his solicitors’ finals.[4] Rhisiart Jones said his brother loves to travel and that after college Ieuan "organised a 'rite of passage' trip across Europe in his Hillman Imp."[3]
He was married to
Personal style
Ieuan Wyn Jones is known as a keen negotiator and a "man of integrity, one who is reliable and 'a good listener'".[3] According to Lord Elis-Thomas, Jones assiduously "talks to each (Plaid Cymru assembly) group member individually"[3] and "will ensure the [One Wales] government achieves what it says it will."[3]
Jones is generally seen as a pragmatist,[5] steering a middle course between his party's (predominately southern) socialists and the language-inspired activists of the party's Anglesey and Gwynedd heartland.[5]
Political life
Jones's main political interest is health and education policy.
UK Parliament 1987–2001
Jones campaigned for public office for the first time in
Jones has been a governor of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, a body that assists in the development of democratic institutions in many parts of the world.
Jones stood down at the 2001 election to spend more time in the Assembly.
First Welsh Assembly 1999–2003
Jones was the Plaid Cymru campaign director during the first elections to the Welsh Assembly in 1999. The elections were seen as a breakthrough by the party, which gained seats in solid Labour areas such as in the
In 1999, Jones became the Assembly's first Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee chairman, a post he retained until February 2000.
Elected party president
He was elected President (Leader) of Plaid Cymru on 4 August 2000 with 77% of the vote over Helen Mary Jones and Jill Evans.[7]
Jones reshuffled the party leadership with Jocelyn Davies as Business Manager; Elin Jones as Chief Whip and Agriculture & Rural Development spokeswoman; Phil Williams as Economic Development spokesman; and Helen Mary Jones as Environment, Transport and Planning and Equal Opportunities spokeswoman. Jones described his cabinet as "strong... capable of taking on Labour in the Assembly as well as making a vital contribution in promoting a positive policy agenda."[8]
Language Controversy
Controversy erupted in mid-winter 2001 when Gwynedd councillor Seimon Glyn voiced concern over "English immigrants"[9] moving into traditionally Welsh-speaking communities. Though some Plaid Cymru colleagues said he had been taken out of context,[9] Jones issued "strict instructions to Plaid Cymru party members that if they chose to speak on the same emotive issue in future, they should take care that their words were not misconstrued."[9] Plaid Cymru refocused the argument back to one of locals being priced out of the housing market:[9] nearly a third of all properties in Gwynedd are bought by people from out of that county.[10] Jones's centrist policies may have been helped further by the formation of Welsh language pressure group Cymuned and the Independent Wales Party.
Llandudno party conference
At the Plaid Cymru party conference of 2002 in Llandudno, Jones called for greater Assembly authority "[on-parity] with Scotland's parliament", and "opposed any military conflict in Iraq, saying it would destabilise the Middle East."[11] Jones also criticized health and public services policies and would end the "endless revamping of structures and administration".[11]
"[Plaid Cymru] has been doing its homework", wrote
Second Welsh Assembly 2003–2007
However, in the Assembly election of May 2003, Plaid Cymru lost five seats, and within a week there were accusations of a plot headed by Assembly Member Helen Mary Jones and four other Plaid Cymru Assembly Members manoeuvring for Jones's removal.[5][13] But Helen Mary Jones denied involvement.[14] However, Jones resigned as both party president and leader of the assembly group.[3] He admits this was a particularly difficult period.[3]
But within three months he stood again for the position of assembly leader, having received support from both grassroots "all over Wales" and senior party members.[14] The party was undergoing a reorganization and dividing its Cardiff Bay and Westminster responsibilities.[14] This party constitutional change prompted new party elections.[14] Jones was re-elected as Assembly group leader (he had been the party's Business Manager in the Assembly since May). In addition, when leader of the opposition he was also a member of the Assembly's European and External Affairs Committee and North Wales Regional Committee. Of early 2003 Jones said "it has been a remarkable journey for me personally and something that I have great pride in, in a sense, that I have been able to lead the party through a very difficult period.[3]
In 2006, he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the
In February 2006, Plaid Cymru undertook changes to its party structure, including designating the leader of the party in the Assembly as its overall leader, with Jones taking the post once more. Additionally, the party unveiled a radical change of image, opting to use "Plaid" as the party's name, although "Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales" would remain the official title. The party's colours were changed to yellow from the traditional green and red, while the party logo was changed from the triban (three peaks) used since 1933 to a yellow Welsh poppy (Meconopsis cambrica).
Third Welsh Assembly 2007–2011
Jones led Plaid Cymru through the
Forming a government
Jones's initial attempts to form a three-party coalition with the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties failed when the Liberal Democrat leadership backed out of coalition talks. This "Rainbow Coalition" would have formed the first ever PC-led government. With the reappointment of Welsh Labour's Rhodri Morgan as First Minister, the Liberal Democrat general party membership demanded that their leadership restart negotiations with Plaid and the Conservatives.[16] However, by now Jones had entered into coalition talks with Labour in an attempt to form a stable government[17] with Plaid's AMs approving a deal with the Labour Party on 27 June 2007.[18] Labour's special party conference on 6 July 2007 approved the coalition; Plaid Cymru's conference the next day sealed the arrangement.[19][20]
During the coalition negotiations, Jones pressed for full law-making powers for the Assembly, similar to the Scottish Parliament.[18] A referendum on the issue was promised "as soon as practicable, at or before the end of the assembly term (in 2011)", with Welsh Labour committed to campaign for a "yes" vote.[18] Other points Jones fought for included a first-time buyer's credit, a reconfiguration of the Welsh National Health Care service,[18] and a 3% annual reduction in carbon emissions by 2011 in areas of devolved competence. The result of the negotiations was the One Wales agreement.[18]
Of Plaid Cymru's entering into government for the first time, Jones said, "The party's role so far has been one of the opposition party which put pressure on the other parties to move things forward for the benefit of Wales,"[3] and "From today we will be sharing the responsibility of directly operating on behalf of the people of Wales. I am looking forward to the challenge."[3]
Deputy First Minister of Wales
Ieuan Wyn Jones became
Jones also represented Wales at the
On 19 July 2007 it was announced that Jones would also be
Fourth Welsh Assembly 2011–2013
Jones led Plaid into the Welsh Assembly election of 5 May 2011. Plaid Cymru lost 4 seats and, with 11 seats, became the third largest party in the Assembly; behind Labour (30 seats) and the Conservatives (14). Jones announced on 13 May 2011, the day he ceased being Deputy First Minister, that he would resign as leader of Plaid Cymru within the first half of the Assembly term.[24] Jones remained as an Assembly Member until his resignation on 20 June 2013, in order to take a post leading the new Menai Science Park.[2][25]
2017 United Kingdom general election
In the 2017 United Kingdom general election, Jones contested the seat of Ynys Môn when he was unsuccessful.
Books
Jones has published three books, Europe: the Challenge for Wales (1996);[26] Y Llinyn Arian (1998), a biography of the Welsh nineteenth century publisher, Thomas Gee,[27] and Jones' own autobiography O'r Cyrion i'r Canol (2021).[28]
Membership
- International Film And Television Research Center
- International Film And Television Club Of Asian Academy of Film & Television
References
- ^ "Jones takes top politician award". BBC News. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Welsh Parliament". Senedd Cymru. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Browne, Adrian (11 July 2007). "A 'remarkable journey' for Jones". BBC News. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Ieuan Wyn Jones's website". Ieuanwynjones.plaidcymru.org. Archived from the original on 2 August 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d "The Comeback Kid". BBC News. 15 September 2003. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Home: Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales". Ieuanwynjones.plaidcymru.org. Archived from the original on 2 August 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Plaid Cymru picks Ieuan Wyn Jones by a landslide". The Independent. 4 August 2000. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "Plaid leader reshuffles cabinet". BBC News. 9 August 2000. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Plaid bids to defuse 'racism' row". BBC News. 21 February 2001. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Apology over 'insults' to English". BBC News. 19 January 2001. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Plaid leader aiming to govern extracted 07-19-07". BBC News. 20 September 2002. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Jones' uphill struggle for votes by Simon Morris extracted 07-19-07". BBC News. 20 September 2002. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ Horton, Nick (9 May 2003). "Plaid, the president and the 'plot'". BBC News. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Plaid president's comeback attempt". BBC News. 7 July 2003. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "First ethnic minority AM elected". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
- ^ "Plaid says deal back on the table". BBC News. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Labour calls coalition conference". BBC News. 15 June 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Wales | Historic Labour-Plaid deal agreed". BBC News. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Labour agrees historic coalition". BBC News. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Labour-Plaid coalition is sealed". BBC News. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ a b "Jones confirmed as deputy leader". BBC Wales. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
- ^ "Rhodri Morgan has artery surgery". BBC News. 9 July 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Jones and Brown meet at Stormont". BBC News. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Ieuan Wyn Jones to stand down as Plaid Cymru leader". BBC News. 13 May 2011.
- ^ "Ieuan Wyn Jones to stand down as AM with immediate effect". BBC News. 20 June 2013.
- ^ "Ewrop: Y Salens I Gymru / Europe: The Challenge for Wales by Ieuan Wyn Jones: Used: Acceptable Paperback (1996) | Lady Lisa's Bookshop". www.abebooks.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Y Llinyn Arian (9780707403175) | Ieuan Wyn Jones | Y Lolfa". www.ylolfa.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "O'r Cyrion i'r Canol (9781800991040) | Ieuan Wyn Jones | Y Lolfa". www.ylolfa.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.