Author Archives: Kirsty Williams AM

Kirtsy Williams writes… Looking back at 2011 and looking forward to 2012

By Kirsty Williams AM | Published 29th December 2011 - 1:51 pm

2011 has most certainly been a year that has kept all of us busy – elections to the Assembly, referenda, journalists following us around making sense of it all and the people of Wales playing an active part in Welsh political life. As the Arab spring was sweeping through the Arab world bringing with it elections and democratic accountability, Wales was also playing its part in making its voice heard.

This time last year, I was a few months away from leading my party into my first Assembly elections as leader. The media was predicting a wipe out for the Welsh …

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Posted in Op-eds, Wales | 3 Comments

Kirsty Williams writes… The Welsh Pupil Premium

By Kirsty Williams AM | Published 28th November 2011 - 11:51 am

Last week I announced that the Welsh Liberal Democrats will be voting with the Welsh Labour government for the budget on the 6th December.

We have agreed to support the 2012-2013 budget on the basis that we will be introducing a Welsh Pupil Premium.  This means that from April 2012, every child in Wales on free schools meals will recieve an extra £450 of funding – no matter where they live, or what school they go to.  This is a total Pupil Premium spending of £32 million, of which £20 million is brand new money for the education budget.

Some …

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Kirsty Williams AM writes: Getting down to business in Wales

By Kirsty Williams AM | Published 15th July 2011 - 2:37 pm

The long running saga of the ‘Welsh Lib Dem two’ has now been resolved but not without some pain. While Aled Roberts was able to re-take his seat as an Assembly Member, it was clear in the National Assembly that John Dixon did not have the same support.

I would like to pay tribute to John Dixon. He has served the public diligently and with distinction on Cardiff Council. He would have been an enormously effective and hard working Assembly Member. He has paid a very high price and I would like to pay tribute to him for the dignity with which he has handled the situation over the past two months.

Aled Roberts too has had a difficult couple of months but he is now back in the Assembly where he belongs and we have wasted no time in getting down to business and I have been able to announce the team that will hold the government to account.

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Kirsty Williams writes: Slow progress in Wales

By Kirsty Williams AM | Published 21st June 2011 - 3:25 pm

We are six weeks from the elections and the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Government getting on with the job they were elected to do – governing and legislating. The Scottish Government is demanding more fiscal powers and they are rocking the constitutional boat. Whether you agree with the SNPs policies or not, they are doing something. The story in Wales is different.

The first major government announcement in Wales came on Tuesday when the First Minister rose to his feet to outline his Welsh equivalent of the Queen Speech. This should have been a momentous occasion since the people …

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Kirsty Williams writes… Education is a cause that unites us all

By Kirsty Williams AM | Published 1st February 2011 - 11:35 am

Education has always been particularly important to Liberals. Wales has always prioritised education but this great tradition has been left to slide.

Alarm bells rang when last summer, our GCSE and A level results fell behind England for the first time.

Now, two recent reports have exposed just how badly Labour and Plaid Cymru have mismanaged the Welsh education system.

Firstly, an international assessment of performance (PISA, run by the OECD) has shown that Wales is the lowest achieving nation of the UK and falling behind many European countries. Welsh students have fallen behind in reading, mathematics and science. …

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Kirsty Williams AM: why I want to lead the Welsh Liberal Democrats

By Kirsty Williams AM | Published 25th November 2008 - 4:45 pm

I am incredibly proud that the Welsh Liberal Democrats are on the verge of electing the first female party leader in Wales. It is a significant point in Welsh political history, and one that will follow a decade of immense change in how our country is governed.

I have had the privilege of being involved in that change, from the referendum campaign and the National Assembly Advisory group through to the rough and tumble of three election victories in Brecon and Radnorshire. That process of change is not about to stop and I want the Welsh Liberal Democrats to be …

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