Tag Archives: mark williams

Mark Valladares

29 April 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 29th April 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Lib Dems: Protect swimming pools and leisure centres from closure with “critical health infrastructure” status
  • Welsh Lib Dem leader meets Aber student union following scrapping of teacher training

Lib Dems: Protect swimming pools and leisure centres from closure with “critical health infrastructure” status

The Liberal Democrats have called for swimming pools and leisure centres to be designated as “critical health infrastructure” to protect them from closure.

It comes as new analysis by the party shows 266 local authority swimming pools and 261 leisure facilities have been closed since 2015.

Once new openings are taken into account, there has been a net loss of 31 local authority swimming pools and 19 leisure facilities since 2015.

A series of Parliamentary Questions from Helen Morgan MP to Ministers showed year on year closure of swimming pools across the country alongside the loss of leisure centres.

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Posted in News, Press releases and Wales | Also tagged , , , , and | 12 Comments
The Voice

Mark Williams selected to fight Ceredigion for the Liberal Democrats

By The Voice | Fri 12th May 2023 - 4:22 pm

Ceredigion Liberal Democrats have reselected Mark Williams as Liberal Democrats for Ceredigion following a vote of local party members. Mark Williams was formerly the MP for Ceredigion from 2005- 2017 and was the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. He and his wife Helen, who runs the local Community Hwb, live in Borth with their four children.

Since 2017 Mark has resumed his teaching career and has remained active in a range of local voluntary organisations and charities.

Commenting on his selection, Mark Williams said:

I am delighted to once again be our candidate in my home constituency, the place where we live, where my children have grown up and thrived, and in which I passionately believe has so much potential.

Ceredigion is a wonderful place in which to live, but all too often is overlooked by UK Government Westminster and the Welsh Government in Cardiff Bay.

That is why Ceredigion needs a strong voice to champion it in Parliament and why I’m going to be working hard to win back the seat and put Ceredigion’s interests first. Standing up for local communities has always been the defining characteristic of the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats’ commitment to internationalism, protecting our natural environment, standing up for carers and reforming our democracy are things I’m really looking forward to talking to residents about on the doorstep.

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Mark Valladares

3 November 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 3rd November 2022 - 10:30 pm
  • Bank of England rate rise: Chancellor must address the country
  • Asylum seekers abandoned – Braverman failing in her duty as Home Secretary
  • Elin Jones Wrong to Defend Mark Drakeford’s Qatar Trip Say Lib Dems
  • Number of GPs and GP Practices in Wales Fall
  • Interest rates: Chancellor must address the country with a plan to save homeowners
  • Davey: Recession warning a “badge of shame” for Rishi Sunak and Conservative government

Bank of England rate rise: Chancellor must address the country

Commenting ahead of today’s interest rate decision from the Bank of England, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

The Chancellor must address the country immediately after the rate rise decision to spell out a plan to save homeowners on the brink. He should either come to Parliament or hold a press conference to announce support for families facing mortgage bill rises worth hundreds of pounds a month.

Hardworking families are being left to pay the price for weeks of Conservative chaos. People are desperately worried about how they are going to pay these frightening mortgage payments after tomorrow.

The Government cannot hide away, especially after their long list of economic failures.

Asylum seekers abandoned – Braverman failing in her duty as Home Secretary

The Liberal Democrats have warned that Home Secretary Suella Braverman is “failing in her duty” as Home Secretary, after reports asylum seekers have been left stranded in central London by the Home Office.

It comes after Robert Jenrick emphasised last night on ITV’s Peston that the Home Secretary has a duty not to release asylum seekers into destitution.

Suella Braverman also assured Parliament on Monday that she had refused to release people into local communities “without having anywhere for them to stay”.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

Asylum seekers being abandoned with no place to stay in central London is the most blatant sign that the system is completely broken.

Suella Braverman is failing in her basic duty as Home Secretary. She needs to urgently explain how this has been allowed to happen, despite the assurances given to Parliament earlier this week.

It’s intolerable that vulnerable people are being left without help because of the endless chaos and incompetence of this government.

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The Voice

Mark Williams re-selected to contest Ceredigion

By The Voice | Sun 10th March 2019 - 6:40 pm

Former MP Mark Williams has been re-selected as the Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster candidate for Ceredigion.

Mark was the MP for Ceredigion from 2005 to 2017 and has remained an active local campaigner since, leading the protests against the closure of the Bodlondeb Care Home in Aberystwyth.

In 2017 the Welsh Liberal Democrats were just 104 votes behind Plaid Cymru, and the Party are determined to win the seat back.

Commenting on his selection Mark Williams said:

It’s truly humbling that party members have chosen me to contest the Ceredigion constituency once more and I am

…

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Mark Valladares

31 October 2018 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 31st October 2018 - 11:11 pm

It’s Halloween, and the Press teams on either side of Offa’s Dyke are still working away…

Don’t Let Down Welsh Farmers – Welsh Lib Dems

Following the closure of the Welsh Government’s Brexit and Our Land consultation, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have urged the Welsh Government to carefully listen to the views of farmers and ensure farmers are not let down as they begin to consider their response.

The Welsh Government’s proposed model for supporting farmers and land managers after Brexit involves removing any aspect of direct support and instead focusing on promoting economic resilience and public goods.

The Welsh Liberal Democrat response to …

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The Voice

Today at Welsh Conference

By The Voice | Sat 11th March 2017 - 8:00 am

Welsh Liberal Democrats gather in Swansea this weekend for their first Spring Conference since the disastrous election last year which saw them lose four of their five AMs. The party has had to pick itself up from that heartbreaking and thoroughly undeserved defeat. It has re-organised its resources and is ready to fight the Council elections in May. They also have the only Liberal Democrat Minister standing, in Kirsty Williams, who is doing a great job as Wales’ Education Secretary. Below is their agenda for the day.

They are having discussion sessions with their party spokespeople, motions on students and the community, ending the right to buy and community banking and  a long debate on their council elections manifesto. The details are below.

Morning session

09:15 Opening of Conference
9:40 Party Spokespeople: Cllr Peter Black: Finance, Local Government, Heritage, & Housing Jane Dodds: Communities & Social Justice

10:00 Topical/Emergency Motion

10:20 PM1: Students and the Local Community

Conference notes:

  1. The positive impact of students and universities on the local economy
  2. The transient nature of student communities
  3. The tensions that can arise between long-term residents and the changing studentpopulation

Conference believes:

  1. Collaboration between groups leads to the most effective and sustainable solutions to the issues and challenges transient communities face
  2. That it is the responsibility of students, landlords, and local authorities to keep the local areas tidy
  3. More can and should be done to improve community relations between long-term and student residents

Conference calls for:

7. Local authorities to work with students unions and universities on a variety of projects including:

  1. Creating an information pack for students and landlords detailing what resources are available to them within the community. This can include material and adverts from local businesses and groups, guidance on contacting the council, guidance around bin collection and local events.
  2. Informing students of their rights as renters through online materials and workshops
  3. Run community building projects such as Cardiff Digs and Love Bangor
  4. Promote and work with Communities 1st and similar groups
  5. To recognise work done by students in the local community through the useof Higher Education Achievement Report or other award schemes

10:50 PM2: Standing up for our Local Communities

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Mary Reid

LibLink: Mark Williams on happiness, which is still ground for punishment in Iran

By Mary Reid | Mon 20th June 2016 - 12:45 pm

 

Mark Williams has written an article for The Hill, the Washington based news source. Under the eye-catching headline “Happiness is still ground for punishment in Iran” Mark writes:

A couple of years ago, Western audiences were noticeably shocked at the news that several Iranian youths had been arrested for the “crime” of dancing together and posting a video of themselves celebrating life to the strains of an American pop song called “Happy.” It was one in a long series of vivid reminders of repression in Iran. But unfortunately it was one of only a few that have gained significant traction in the Western media. It left the European and American public with the right idea about the Islamic Republic, but also with a potentially incomplete picture of how serious and how pervasive the problem is.

He explains that the incident took place soon after the reportedly moderate Hassan Rouhani had taken over as President, and there was hope that things would change under his leadership.  But hopes were dashed.

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NewsHound

How Mark Williams intends to revitalise the Welsh Liberal Democrats

By NewsHound | Sat 14th May 2016 - 4:14 pm

In his first interview as Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader, for Wales Online, Mark Williams talked about how the party would rebuild following the shattering defeat in the Assembly elections.

He seemed to cast doubt on the wisdom of concentrating campaigning in 4 constituency seats, saying the party needed to reach out to liberals across Wales:

He said: “There are huge swathes of Wales where we did not campaign at all, and that’s what we need to change.

“There are groups of Liberal activists around the country that need to be supported build strength on the ground.”

Mr Williams said election efforts had been concentrated in Brecon and Radnorshire, Cardiff Central, Ceredigion, Montgomeryshire – only the first of which was won.

Adamant there are many potential supporters in Wales, he said: “There’s a lot of people out there, maybe who were disaffected by the coalition experience, who we need to draw back into our party.

“Whatever the percentage was on Thursday, there are far more Liberals, people of Liberal thinking, out there.”

He looked to history to show that the party would recover:

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The Voice

Mark Williams MP is the new Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader

By The Voice | Sat 7th May 2016 - 6:14 pm

Mark Williams MP by LIberal Democrats

Ceredigion MP Mark Williams has been confirmed as the new Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader by the Welsh National Executive Committee. As the only other Parliamentarian after Kirsty Williams stood down yesterday in the wake of the election results, he is the only other person eligible for the job as the Welsh Constitution outlines:

The Leader of the Party shall be elected from the Welsh Liberal Democrat members of the European Parliament, House of Commons and the National Assembly for Wales and shall become Leader of whichever Group they originate from.

From the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ website:

The National Executive Committee has announced Ceredigion MP Mark Williams as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats following a meeting today.

Mark Williams was first elected the MP for Ceredigion in 2005. He studied at Aberystwyth University before working for Geraint Howells, the Liberal MP for Ceredigion, and then becoming a Research Assistant to Liberal Peers in the House of Lords. He later worked as a Primary School Teacher and Deputy Headteacher before being elected to Parliament.

Following the meeting, Mark Williams MP said:

“It is a great honour to become leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

“It is a great challenge to follow in the footsteps of Kirsty Williams, who has served us outstandingly for eight years through challenging times. Every one of us owe her a huge debt of gratitude.

“These coming months and years will test the flame of liberalism, and I will do everything possible to ensure that flame burns brightly again across our great nation.

“Despite the election results, I’m heartened by the growing number of members and activists joining us because they believe in our cause, and I call on any person who shares our values to join us in our fight.”

 

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Caron Lindsay

Mixed emotions after Syria vote

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 3rd December 2015 - 8:39 am

Yesterday was a very strange day, full of mixed emotions for me. I had instinctively felt from the start of all of this that the case for extending air strikes into Syria had not been made and, although I came very close, I could never get to a place where I felt the risks to people on the ground outweighed the potential benefits. Had I been a Liberal Democrat MP, I would have voted against. I watched a huge chunk of the debate and it was, at times, difficult to see my feelings being expressed by members of other parties.

This wasn’t like the coalition years, though. On more than a handful of occasions, I sat through parliamentary debates with gritted teeth, often feeling apoplectic because I could not understand why on earth we had even entertained the idea of voting for, say, secret courts or some of the more brutal elements of welfare reform. Yesterday, though, I could totally understand and empathise with our leader’s stance, driven as it was by the best of liberal, humanitarian and internationalist motivations. He made an absolute cracker of a speech, delivered with passion and confidence. If you haven’t seen it, watch this extract:

Here is my response in the House of Commons earlier today, on the decision to take action on ISIL in Syria

Posted by Tim Farron on Wednesday, 2 December 2015

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Caron Lindsay

Two Liberal Democrat MPs to vote against airstrikes?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 2nd December 2015 - 8:05 pm

It appears that the Liberal Democrats may not have a full set of MPs going through the Aye lobby tonight. The BBC’s Norman Smith tweeted a while ago:

Unfortunately, now that we can list our MPs in a single tweet, tracking down the two was not hard.

Even if John Barrett, former Lib Dem MP for Edinburgh West hadn’t left this comment:

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Caron Lindsay

In full: Lib Dem MPs’ Commons tributes to Kennedy

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th June 2015 - 6:55 pm

We’ve already posted the video of the tributes to Charles Kennedy from the Commons on Wednesday and we’ve also posted Nick’s in full. We thought it might be useful to put the text of all five of the Lib Dem tributes, including Nick’s, in one post for ease of reference and posterity. They all did Charles proud. Greg and Mark talked about the way he really connected with ordinary people and about his concern for others. Norman spoke about his unfailing courtesy in his dealings with people, highlighting the need to tackle the stigma around mental ill health and emphasising Charles’ passions for internationalism and social justice. Tim’s emotional tribute spoke about Charles the persuader, how he could change minds and really tug on the heartstrings. Nick’s was just beautiful, and I particularly liked the memory he shared about their fly smoke outside the National Liberal Club where they discussed the Coalition. In years to come, I hope that Charles’ son and those who were close to him find great comfort and pride. To be universally admired in our tribal politics takes some doing.

I guess I should advise that if you are going to read all five of them in one sitting, you will need a cup of tea and a box of tissues.

So, here they all are, starting with:

Greg Mulholland

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Jenny Randerson

Baroness Jenny Randerson writes…Optimism and determination of Welsh campaign teams is impressive

By Jenny Randerson | Wed 25th February 2015 - 12:30 pm

When I am travelling around Wales I take every opportunity as to go out campaigning with our Welsh MPs. Last week I was out knocking doors with Mark Williams and his team in Lampeter. I am a seasoned Ceredigion campaigner- I don’t think I have missed an election there in the last 15 years. So I know what to expect, and the atmosphere hasn’t changed. Mark is known by almost everyone and regarded with huge respect for his constant hard work in a constituency where local issues are particularly important.

In Brecon and Radnor the “Williams Team” are equally well known and Roger is particularly well established in the farming community. Campaigning in such a sparsely populated area is never easy and elections in B and R are not for the faint hearted. But once again we have the benefit of a well-liked and respected candidate and a strong local party able to support him.

Cardiff Central is about as big a contrast as you can imagine: it is geographically the smallest Welsh constituency but, as an inner city seat it has a big turnover of population. I live in the area so it is no surprise that I campaign there regularly. As a Labour facing seat it will obviously be very closely fought and Jenny Willott’s Labour opponent is particularly well funded as she is a Trade Union lawyer. Jenny and our team are working as hard as it is possible to do and, once again, her name is well known and her reputation for hard work is frequently mentioned. Labour infighting on the Council and their plans to close libraries and reduce bin collections have persuaded a lot of local people that they cannot be trusted. The core Lib Dem team in Central are experienced, tough campaigners, but there are also a lot of new members, many of them young, for whom this is their first general election as activists.

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The Voice

Congratulations, Jo Baker: Lib Dem Researcher of the Year!

By The Voice | Tue 1st April 2014 - 8:46 pm

Huge congrats to Jo Baker – researcher for Mark Williams, Lib Dem MP for Ceredigion – for winning The House Magazine and PoliticsHome.com’s Liberal Democrat Researcher of the Year!

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Caron Lindsay

Protecting children, nuisance calls, delivery charges and supporting deaf people – the Liberal Democrat private members bills

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 28th June 2013 - 11:55 am

Stephen Tall told us all about the private members’ bills brought in by Tory MPs in their “alternative Queen’s Speech” – everything from burka banning to reintroducing the death penalty to naming the August Bank Holiday after Margaret Thatcher.

I thought I’d look into the measures the Liberal Democrats who were successful in the Great Parliamentary Raffle are hoping to bring into law. As you might expect, they’re a bit more practical and relevant.

Sir Malcolm Bruce’s Bill is all about improving communications support for deaf people. Signature has more details:

Sir Malcolm is a tireless advocate for the deaf community

…

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Caron Lindsay

Smith, Crockart, Bruce and Williams win in Great Parliamentary Raffle

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 11:38 am

Well, I learned something I didn’t know about parliamentary procedure yesterday. I had always assumed that the Private Members’ Bill Ballot was an actual ballot, where MPs voted for themselves or their colleagues. How naive was I? The secret is now out, and available on You Tube. It’s actually a big raffle as you can see here:

440 MPs’ names went into the box and just 20 were drawn out. Among them were 4 Liberal Democrats. We had Sir Robert Smith in 9th place, Mike Crockart in 11th, Mark Williams in 13th and Sir Malcolm Bruce in 14th.  I …

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Caron Lindsay

Jo Swinson ensures fair treatment for supermarket suppliers

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 5th December 2012 - 3:56 pm

It’s a key liberal principle that large, powerful organisations whether government or private companies, should not be allowed to abuse that power, to treat those they deal with unfairly.

That’s why the Liberal Democrats have been so keen to set up a Groceries Adjudicator to ensure that the large supermarkets give a fair deal to their suppliers. The Adjudicator will have the power to arbitrate between retailers and suppliers, and

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Mark Williams MP

A postcard from… Abuja

By Mark Williams MP | Tue 28th February 2012 - 11:12 am

A week away from Westminster offers our Parliamentarians an opportunity to travel. And whilst Ros Scott went north, as we’ll see later today, Mark Williams headed towards the warmth of West Africa. He sent us this…

If ever there was a justification for our coalition government’s commitment on overseas aid, it was laid bare for me on a half-term trip to Nigeria as part of the All-Party Group on Global Education working with the charity ActionAid International. I will never forget the village school in Abuja with 700 children with absolutely no water supply, no toilet provision, no drinking water, but …

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Dinti Batstone

Opinion: Cross-Party Support for Job-Sharing

By Dinti Batstone | Sun 29th January 2012 - 10:00 am

What do Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, the Conservatives’ Peter Bottomley and our own Jenny Willott have in common? They’ve all signed up to this Early Day Motion tabled by Liberal Democrat MP for Ceredigion, Mark Williams.

Mark’s motion welcomes a recent report, Job-Sharing at Senior Level: Making It Work, highlighting that job-sharing can stem the ‘female brain drain’ by enabling more women to progress into senior roles while combining work with family. It notes a striking finding that 80% of highly qualified women wish to work part-time and calls on the Government to consider the implications of this in the context of …

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Paul Tyler

Lord Tyler writes: Don’t listen to the doomsayers

By Paul Tyler | Fri 1st July 2011 - 10:53 am

Since the publication of the Government’s White Paper and Draft Bill on House of Lords reform, the old guard have lined up to cavil about its detail, to deride its democratic principles and to defend – in the last ditch – the status quo.

This has augmented the popular media’s predisposition towards arch cynicism and trenchant pessimism. Yet there is firm evidence to contradict their lazy assumptions. Just because Labour engaged in over a decade of dither and delay does not mean that a determined government, with the resolve of the House of Commons behind it, cannot succeed.

The …

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Mark Pack

Office of the Public Guardian finally starts to get some serious public scrutiny

By Mark Pack | Mon 16th August 2010 - 12:20 pm

The Office of the Public Guardian should be a wonderful public service, helping people have more control over how their lives are sorted out if they get to a point where they can’t make decisions for themselves. That’s the theory anyway. The reality is somewhat different, as I’ve chronicled with their long and complicated paperwork:

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Huw Dawson

The second biggest fight in Wales: Ceredigion

By Huw Dawson | Sat 30th January 2010 - 4:50 pm

The Liberal Democrats have four seats in Wales. Everyone’s heard of Lembit Opik, MP for Montgomeryshire. Then you have Jenny Willott, MP for Cardiff Central. Roger Williams is the MP for Brecon & Radnorshire and Mark Williams is the MP for Ceredigion. Most people in Britain wouldn’t be able to find these places on a map, but that doesn’t really matter. I’m only going to talk about one – Ceredigion.

Mark Williams won a victory in 2005 that, quite frankly, was a complete surprise. You might have caught Kirsty Williams AM (Who is totally unrelated, I hasten to clarify) bursting into …

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