Tag Archives: kirsty williams

Caron Lindsay

Do you agree with Kirsty and Tim about banning Delilah?

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 8th February 2016 - 6:00 pm

Kirsty Williams and Tim Farron have wandered into the controversy over the singing of the Tom Jones song Delilah by Welsh rugby fans.

Labour MP Chris Bryant thinks it shouldn’t be sung on account of its account of the murder of its eponymous heroine.

I had never really paid too much attention to the lyrics before but they are certainly pretty chilling. Having said that, if you banned every reference in literature or music to violence, and particularly violence against women, there wouldn’t be much left. You certainly wouldn’t be able to study Othello for your GCSEs or A Level, for example.

It does seem strange to have a song that’s basically about a man hunting down and murdering a woman as a rugby anthem, especially when it’s sung with such ceremony by choirs and Tom Jones himself. I’d love to know how that happened. I’m told that it’s been used since at least the early 1970s.

Kirsty and Tim took a more pragmatic approach to the issue than Chris Bryant. Kirsty said, according to Wales Online that a ban wasn’t realistic, but that more could and should be done to tackle the correlation between domestic violence and certain sports:

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Caron Lindsay

Kirsty Williams’ speech to Welsh Conference: Community, better public services and a new initiative to Ask Wales

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th February 2016 - 9:45 am

Below is Kirsty Williams’ keynote speech to Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference. It’s a good read,

Dream

Conference: ‘I had a dream’

Okay… you may have heard that one before, but as we head into our 5th set of elections since the start of the Assembly, I think back to the time it was first established

I was excited. Enthusiastic. Full of hope.

We had a dream.

Liberals had been fighting for Home Rule for over a hundred years. This was our chance.

You know, I made my first media appearance during the run up to the ’97 referendum.  I had the midnight shift – being interrogated by Andrew Neil.

Sure, I was nervous, of course I was.

I couldn’t quite believe I was sitting next to these professional politicians, who I’d only ever seen on the telly.

But what overrode my nerves was excitement.

We were on the cusp of achieving all that we had hoped for

We’d campaigned for over 100 years for this moment. For Welsh devolution. To bring power closer to the people.

Nearly two decades later, and ask yourself – has that happened?

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Caron Lindsay

Kirsty’s #AskWales2016 initiative: If you were First Minister, what would be the first thing you’d change?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th February 2016 - 8:45 am

Kirsty Williams announced a new initiative in her speech yesterday. She’s always listened to people, but now she wants their voices to be heard and she needs the help of Welsh Liberal Democrat activists to reach as many as possible. The idea is that people ask people they know what their first priority would be if they were First Minister. They film them responding (obviously with their permission) and post to social media.

Here’s the first video.

#AskWales1

What would be your priority if you were First Minister? #AskWales #AskWales2016

Posted by Welsh Liberal Democrats on Saturday, 6 February 2016

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Caron Lindsay

LDV on Tour: Bringing you Welsh Lib Dem Conference as it happens

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 5th February 2016 - 4:30 pm

I’m sitting in the lounge of the Holiday Inn in Cardiff with all a blogger really needs, wifi, coffee and Macbook. I arrived in Cardiff early this morning on a flight which contained a very joyful stag party. I’m sure their mothers would be very worried to see them consuming quite so much vodka at barely past the crack of dawn.

This is only the second time I’ve been to Wales. The first visit was for a Doctor Who convention in 2012 and this one is to cover the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ vital pre-election Spring Conference, so it’s a place very associated with the things that I love. Last time I saw very little other than the hotel and the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay. This time, I’ve already had a wander through the beautiful centre of Cardiff and at the moment am looking out on the castle. When I’ve finished writing, I’m off to the Doctor Who Experience for my fix of everyone’s favourite Time Lord. I saw the exhibition in Newcastle and London before it found its permanent home, just across fron the BBC studios where the programme is filmed.

So, why have I come 400 miles from home for this? Firstly because it’s important. Kirsty Williams leads a group of five Welsh Liberal Democrat AMs. In the last five years, they have been as highly effective an opposition to Labour as Willie and his team have been to the SNP in Holyrood. Kirsty persuaded Labour to introduce the Pupil Premium so that Liberal Democrat idea is already helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds in Welsh schools. Kirsty’s bill to ensure safe nursing levels in Welsh hospital faces its final parliamentary hurdle next week.

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams’ More Nurses Bill passes penultimate Assembly stage

By The Voice | Wed 3rd February 2016 - 7:54 pm

Kirsty Williams addresses the Liverpool Spring conference rally March 2015 Photo by LIberal DemocratsGood news from Cardiff tonight as Kirsty Williams’ Bill to ensure appropriate numbers of nurses in Welsh hospitals cleared its penultimate parliamentary hurdle. The Bill would see Wales become the first country in the UK with a legal duty to have safe nurse staffing levels on hospital wards.

The final stage will take place next week.

Kirsty can deliver her Leader’s speech to Welsh Conference on Saturday knowing that she is only the second AM to have got a Private Bill to this stage. The first was her Liberal Democrat colleague Peter Black with his Mobile Homes Bill.

Over 4,500 members of the public have signed petitions in support of the bill which, if it passes stage 4 next week, could receive royal assent in March.

Kirsty said:

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The Voice

Welsh version of the new “Community” PPB – different running order and added Kirsty

By The Voice | Thu 28th January 2016 - 3:15 pm

Here is the Welsh version of the new Community party political broadcast. It has Kirsty Williams instead of Tim Farron, talking about the warmth and vitality of Welsh communities and how everyone wants good health services and for kids to have great schools to go to.

Welsh Liberal Democrats care about their communities – that's why so many of them are effective community champions. Watch this video to find out why.

Posted by Welsh Liberal Democrats on Wednesday, 27 January 2016

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Caron Lindsay

Five New Year’s resolutions for Liberal Democrats #1

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 1st January 2016 - 1:35 pm

So, it’s the morning after the New Year parties. Everyone else in my house, including the dog, is sleeping off a fun evening of Monopoly in which the two teenagers comprehensively bankrupted the adults over some seven hours. I therefore have time to suggest a few New Year’s Resolutions for Liberal Democrats to see us through 2016.

Don’t let anyone put us in the corner

I don’t know about you, but I am done with caution and contrition. Sure, we were in government for a few years and we seriously screwed a few things up. You’d think we were the only party ever to make mistakes, but we also did a lot of good things for good, liberal reasons. It was our Deputy PM who insisted that a judge-led enquiry investigate phone hacking when the Tories wanted to sweep it under the carpet. It was our Business Minister who brought in shared parental leave. It was our schools minister who gave extra money to disadvantaged kids in school. It was our Climate Change Secretary who faced down the Tories and made sure money was put into renewable energies. It was our Health Minister who started the long job of reforming appallingly poor mental health services which left many without the treatment they needed. Whatever you might think of Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander, the Tories’ recent welfare proposals show exactly what they would have stopped. It took a while for Nick Clegg to come round to the idea that Theresa May’s Snooper’s Charter was ridiculous, but once he got there he stood firm, for years. Oh, and there’s the small matter of protecting human rights legislation, too.

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams blasts cuts to student nurses’ financial support

By The Voice | Wed 30th December 2015 - 3:55 pm

One of the worst elements of the Governemnt’s Comprehensive Spending Review was the proposals to cut bursaries for student nurses. This is particularly reprehensible given that nursing students spend so much of their time actually working on wards. In fact, there are many wards that would buckle under the pressure if they weren’t there.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams, who has led the way in proposing a bill that would guarantee safe nurse staffing levels in Wales, has blasted the proposals and written to health secretary Jeremy Hunt to express her concerns. She said:

The UK already has a shortage of nurses; it’s outrageous that the Tories are now scrapping the valuable support available to student nurses. This will likely only exacerbate the problem by putting people off training to be a nurse.

This ill thought-out decision will badly impact student numbers in England, which would then no doubt have consequences for Wales’ ability to recruit too.

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Kirsty Williams AM

Kirsty Williams’ New Year message: Welsh Lib Dems are “united, growing and up for the fight”

By Kirsty Williams AM | Wed 30th December 2015 - 1:30 pm

2016 will be a big year for Wales.  With the Assembly elections just around the corner, people will soon decide who they want representing them in Cardiff Bay.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats head into these elections with our heads held high and a record to be proud of.  During this Assembly, we have used our influence in budget negotiations to secure, amongst other things, over £200 million extra investment in schools through our Welsh Pupil Premium.  This policy, directed at pupils that need it most, is central to what we believe in: ensuring that everyone, no matter their background, will get a fair start in life.  Despite being a small group in the Assembly, we have made a big difference to the communities we represent.

We combine this dedication to fairness with a pro-enterprise agenda.  We believe in supporting people who have ambition and ideas.  We understand that it’s not just government that creates jobs, but business too.  We recognise that in the real world, even our brightest need support to create and innovate.

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams’ Christmas message with a difference

By The Voice | Thu 24th December 2015 - 11:55 am

A very different Christmas message from the rest as Kirsty Williams shares one of her family traditions, reading Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

Kirsty read an extract and it’s great to see how passionate and involved she gets in the story. Brilliant stuff.

Kirsty Williams’ 2015 Christmas MessageThis year’s Christmas message from Kirsty Williams is a little different…A very merry Christmas from all of us at the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

Posted by Welsh Liberal Democrats on Wednesday, 23 December 2015

Get yourself a cup of tea and enjoy this.

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Caron Lindsay

What Twitter tells us about Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th November 2015 - 12:45 pm

The Welsh Liberal Democrats met in Swansea for their Autumn Conference yesterday. Here are some of the highlights from Twitter.

Like the Scottish Kickstart which also took place yesterday, the event opened with a minute’s silence for the victims of the Paris atrocities.

Sal Brinton also mentioned the events in Paris in her speech:

Was some awkward squad rebellion going on?

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The Voice

Willie Rennie and Kirsty Williams challenge Scots and Welsh Tory leaders to disown Theresa May’s “borderline xenophobic” comments

By The Voice | Wed 7th October 2015 - 2:37 pm

Tim Farron was quick to condemn Theresa May’s speech yesterday, saying that she, not immigrants, were damaging to social cohesion. I think it was one of the most disgraceful speeches we have ever heard from a Home Secretary and, let’s face it, Jack Straw, John Reid and David Blunkett had already ensured that the bar was in the gutter. At the time of writing, the Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition has not yet deigned to challenge her.

We’ve seen over the Summer how the Welsh and Scottish Tory leaders have set themselves apart from the wilder rhetoric coming from senior Conservatives, such as the “swarm” comments of the Prime Minister. Their Liberal Democrat counterparts Kirsty Williams and Willie Rennie have challenged them to dissociate themselves from Theresa May’s comments.

Kirsty said:

Andrew Davies must speak out against Theresa May’s outrageous speech or we must assume that he shares her views. He was right last month to call for extra help for refugees fleeing the crisis in Syria, but his position is at odds with the borderline xenophobia we heard from the Home Secretary.

Britain is socially, culturally and economically richer for our outward looking, tolerant approach. Yet this Conservative government is whipping up fear and mistrust.

Willie added:

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The Voice

In Full: Kirsty Williams’ speech to Liberal Democrat Conference: A Britain without liberalism is a Britain that has lost its soul

By The Voice | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 9:47 am

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams gave her keynote speech to Conference yesterday and she did not mince her words.

She was candid about the failings of the coalition, saying that it looked like we’d never even tried to keep the pledge on tuition fees, and that our identity had been lost. 

She also said that one of the best ways to improve gender balance in parliamentarians was to help in Wales to make sure the Liberal Democrats did well as female candidates had been selected in many winnable seats.

She also set out her stall for the elections:

We believe in Freedom. Freedom of the individual, so everyone has the opportunity to be who they want to be and reach their full potential

We believe in Fairness – for diversity, against intolerance – the voice for the voiceless

And we believe in Community. Where we as individuals work together for the common good, where we empower communities to make decisions that work best for them

Most other parties can achieve some of those principles, but none combine them.

And what makes us unique is that we’re liberals

Feeling so strongly about something so positive gives us the power and confidence needed to take us forward:

The confidence to say immigration benefits our country

The confidence to say rehabilitation works better than prison

The confidence to say our voting systems, our institutions, our whole political system quite frankly stinks

The Human Rights Act, the green agenda, mental health – we fight for the underdog, we fight for what is right, leading on the issues that no-one else will.

Here is her speech in full:

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The Voice

Lamb and Williams warn on care cap delay

By The Voice | Sun 26th July 2015 - 3:25 pm

As Care Minister, Norman Lamb (and his Liberal Democrat predecessor) were pivotal in ensuring that the cap for care costs was introduced. The Conservatives have now delayed its implementation by 4 long years. Norman described this as an “outrageous betrayal of people at their most weak and most frail. He said:

This an extraordinary and devastating u-turn from the Tories and an outrageous betrayal of people at their most weak and most frail with conditions like dementia.

Crippling care costs need addressing urgently. In coalition we designed a solution that would help and was affordable. Local authorities have spent millions already preparing for the introduction of the cap, yet we now hear the Tories are turning their back on it. This delay is a total waste of public money.

The distress and heartbreak that people feel when a loved one is in care, is being exacerbated by the fear of how to pay for it. We must not allow this to continue.

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Kirsty Williams AM

Kirsty Williams AM writes… An ambitious Liberal Democrat plan for the NHS Welsh people need

By Kirsty Williams AM | Tue 21st July 2015 - 3:58 pm

Today at the Royal Welsh Show I launched our party’s 3 point-plan for Wales’ NHS that puts patients first.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have a wide range of policies and proposals for reforms to improve our health service, but today I wanted to highlight the three key parts of our plans for the NHS ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.

The 3-point plan is as follows:

Guaranteed access to your GP: People are fed up of finding it a real struggle to make an appointment and to access their GP.  In this day and age, everyone should be able to make an appointment easily – that is what the Welsh Liberal Democrats will deliver. We would properly invest in an ‘Access to GPs’ scheme to guarantee a prompt appointment and extend GP opening hours.

End mental health discrimination: I am proud that our party has led on this issue across the UK. Only last month the Welsh Liberal Democrats revealed that in just two years there has been a 472% increase in young people waiting over 14 weeks to receive mental health services. That is a disgrace, which is why we would oversee a culture change to ensure mental health is treated on a par with physical health. We would ensure that patients with mental health issues have an equal right to access treatments as those requiring physical care.

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams: Liberal Democrats fight for the underdog, we fight for what is right, leading on the issues that no-one else will

By The Voice | Wed 15th July 2015 - 7:12 pm

In a speech in Cardiff today, Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams made a considered, candid speech in which she started to chart the direction of the post-coalition party. She has to lead her AMs into challenging Welsh Assembly elections in less than ten months’ time.

She spoke honestly about the coalition experience and what she felt the Liberal Democrats had got wrong as well as right. She said it was now time to reset the dial and talked about those values of social justice, individual liberty and Keynesian economic efficiency which are the cornerstones of our values.

The whole speech is reproduced below, and you can listen along to the audio here.

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Caron Lindsay

Williams, Farron and Lamb condemn Welsh Government’s plan to ban on e-cigarettes in public places

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 9th June 2015 - 4:31 pm

The Welsh government has put forward plans to ban the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed public spaces. The BBC reports:

People will be banned from using e-cigarettes in enclosed places such as restaurants, pubs and at work in Wales, under a new public health law.

The plan, likely to come into force in 2017 and the first in the UK, has already divided opinion among health and medical groups, including some anti-smoking campaigners.

But ministers say it is a “balance of risk” and will stop children smoking.

This does not seem to be in any way evidence based.

Liberals really don’t like banning things unless there is a very good reason to do so. It’s therefore not really a surprise to see that Welsh Liberal Democrat leader and both federal leadership candidates have totally condemned the government’s plans:

Kirsty said:

The evidence for this decision is wafer thin.  Banning things just for the sake of it isn’t a position any Government should take.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe all decisions should be evidence based, which is why we are opposed to this ban.  There is very little evidence to date that e-cigs emit anything more harmful than water vapour. Therefore any ban on e-cigs is completely unjustifiable.

We often hear how people are using e-cigarettes to help them give up smoking.  There is a high chance this heavy handed approach from the Welsh Labour Government could actually be counter-productive.

And here’s what the leadership candidates had to say:

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Paul Walter

In pictures – the conference so far #ldconf

By Paul Walter | Sat 14th March 2015 - 9:17 am

Scroll down to view. Firstly, Paddy declares that the parrot is not dead:

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The Voice

Open Doors: The Sequel – All four versions of the second Lib Dem PPB of 2015

By The Voice | Wed 4th March 2015 - 7:20 pm

We brought you the first in the Open Doors series of broadcasts at the end of January. Here is the second in which Willie Rennie’s scarf tying doesn’t improve, Kirsty Williams speaks Welsh and there are lots of good reasons to vote Liberal Democrat with much more policy detail.

Feedback about lack of appropriate accents has clearly been listened to and they have slotted in different comments from each person to each version so you really do have to watch them all.

England

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The Voice

LibLink: Kirsty Williams on more power to Wales

By The Voice | Mon 2nd March 2015 - 5:11 pm

Kirsty WilliamsKirsty Williams would ‘”be very happy” to see a Lib Dem Secretary of State for Wales. As she says in an interview with Wales Online, under the Coalition the party has produced three Scottish Secretaries.

Having Liberal Democrats as secretaries of state gives us the best possible chance of wrestling power out of Whitehall and giving it to Wales.

She reflects on the devolution of the NHS Budget to Manchester.

You know, the fact that that kind of responsibility can be passed down without any referendum at all and here in Wales each step of the devolution pathway we have to have a referendum… The irony of that is not lost on me.

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams: Liberal Democrats have been the positive story of this Coalition

By The Voice | Sat 28th February 2015 - 11:20 am

rally kirsty williams 1It’s Welsh conference today and Kirsty Williams is giving her keynote leader’s speech. In it she will emphasise what the Liberal Democrats have done within the coalition, saying that we have been the good news story of the last five years. She will say:

We have been the good news story, the positive story, the shining light that has come from this Coalition

It is Liberal Democrat policies that are making the difference.  Whether it is raising the tax threshold, revolutionising the pensions system, or introducing equal marriage, we have

…

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Sam Phripp

Opinion: Open doors and open minds

By Sam Phripp | Fri 30th January 2015 - 11:00 am

yellow door ppb

So then, we all saw it, did we? The starting gun for the Liberal Democrats election campaign was well and truly fired on Wednesday with the airing of three different versions of a very similar Party Political Broadcast.

‘Open Doors’ puts a focus on the LibDems as a campaigning force, but importantly for me, it also makes a very clear point about how we operate as a party – we listen to our communities, and we work with them to achieve change. Rather than it being Nick standing around …

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The Voice

Cadan ap Tomos selected to fight Cardiff West in the General Election

By The Voice | Fri 2nd January 2015 - 8:45 am

Cadan ap ThomasWelsh Liberal Democrat Cadan ap Tomos has been selected to fight the seat of Cardiff West at the General Election.

Wales Online has the details:

Fluent Welsh speaker Cadan grew up in Ceredigion and now works in the National Assembly for the party.

The University of York graduate said: “I’m delighted to have been selected to fight Cardiff West for the Welsh Lib Dems. Labour has been taking our communities for granted for far too long, and I look forward to running a strong campaign in the run up to next May.”

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Kirsty Williams congratulated Cadan on his selection.

She said: “He is a terrific candidate with a breadth of experience who I know will work tirelessly for the people of Cardiff.”

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams’ Christmas Message 2014

By The Voice | Tue 23rd December 2014 - 2:38 pm

rally kirsty williams 1In her Christmas and New Year message, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Kirsty Williams has challenged the other parties to make a “strong commitment” to bringing more powers closer to the people of Wales.

Kirsty also spoke of her hope for the passing of her More Nurses Bill, which will go through the Welsh Assembly scrutiny process in 2015, saying that it has the potential to be the “good news story” that the Welsh NHS needs.

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Paul Walter

Video – Kirsty Williams bonus

By Paul Walter | Wed 10th December 2014 - 2:15 pm

As a follow on to our earlier post, this was the video played last night at Cardiff City hall just before Kirsty Williams received her award as Welsh Assembly Member of the year. It’s worth watching. Kirsty can certainly “kick arse”.

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Paul Walter

Kirsty Williams named Welsh assembly member of the year

By Paul Walter | Wed 10th December 2014 - 10:15 am

rally kirsty williams 1Many congratulations to Kirsty Williams, who has been named AM of the Year as part of the Welsh Political awards. The award, given to Kirsty last night at Cardiff City Hall, was “for exercising her political skills to enable the First Minister to achieve his budget, but also allow the Lib Dems to claim significant policy gains in the areas of health and education.”

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Caron Lindsay

Welsh Liberal Democrats to hold Assembly debate on Transgender awareness

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 18th November 2014 - 7:00 pm

Transgender pride flagThis week, as well as being Anti-Bullying Week, is Transgender Awareness Week. Thursday marks the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a memorial to all those transgender people who have been injured and killed as a result of hate crime.

Tomorrow, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are holding a debate in the Welsh Assembly that aims to make life better for Wales’ 31,300 transgender citizen. The idea is to persuade the Welsh Government to actually put some walk to the talk. For those 31,300 people, there is no Gender Clinic in Wales. While violence against transgender people is a hate crime, there’s been little done to actually make people safer.

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Caron Lindsay

It’s been a really good week for Kirsty Williams

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 15th November 2014 - 2:30 pm

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Kirsty Williams gives her keynote speech to the Welsh Conference today. She’s had a barnstormer of a week.

First of all, on Monday, she gave a speech to the Electoral Reform Society in Wales in which she called for more Assembly Members and for Assembly Members to be subject to recall, resulting in this very on message headline:

More AMs for stronger economy

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams: For Labour and the Tories, Welsh patients are just collateral damage in NHS War

By The Voice | Tue 28th October 2014 - 3:55 pm

rally kirsty williams 1Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams emailed Welsh members yesterday about the current war of words over the Welsh NHS. Here’s what she said:

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams questions Welsh First Minister on “lack of ambition” for young people

By The Voice | Wed 22nd October 2014 - 4:52 pm

Kirsty WilliamsKirsty Williams seemed choked with the cold when she questioned First Minister Carwyn Jones yesterday but her fighting spirit was undiminished as she took him to task for what she called his government’s aspiration towards mediocrity rather than excellence in the wake of the annual Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission report which said that poorer children in Wales were significantly less likely to obtain 5 GCSE’s including Maths and English. Even at the age of 3, children in Wales were falling behind those in England and Scotland in terms of vocabulary. While children in England caught up with those in Scotland by the age of 5, children in Wales fell further behind.

In his response, Mr Jones had to point to the “Pupil Deprivation Grant” as being part of the solution.

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