Leighton Andrews
From Rhondda Cynon Taff Wiki
Leighton Andrews (born August 11, 1957, in Cardiff) is a Welsh Labour politician, currently the National Assembly for Wales member for Rhondda since 2003.
Contents |
Background and Education
Married to Ann Beynon, BT Director Wales, the couple have two children.
University of Wales, Bangor and the University of Sussex. Visiting Professor, University of Westminster 1997-2002; Honorary Professor, University of Cardiff 2004-
Professional career
Former head of public affairs for the BBC from 1993-97, responsible for the BBC's relations with the UK Parliament and with the EU institutions. Lecturer at Cardiff University School of Journalism , Media and Cultural Studies immediately prior to his election to the National Assembly.
Political career as a Liberal
In his early years he was a prominent Liberal activist[1]. He stood as Liberal Alliance candidate in the 1987 General Election for the Gillingham constituency. He gained 29% of the vote, losing to the Conservative Candidate.[2]
Former friend, colleague and Liberal MP Michael Meadowcroft describes Leighton Andrews as "the solid, dependable comrade whose Liberal instincts and libertarian heart could always be trusted" in an essay discussing the political conversion to the Labour Party.[3]
Political career with Labour Party
He joined Labour in the mid-1990s, following the successful referendum campaign for a Welsh Assembly. Leighton Andrews was one of the founder members of the Yes for Wales campaign and is the author of "Wales Says Yes", a history of that campaign.
Second Assembly In 2002 Leighton Andrews was selected to fight Rhondda for Labour, after the party's shock defeat to Plaid Cymru's Geraint Davies at the 1999 Assembly election. Andrews retook the seat, with the highest increase in Labour's vote of any constituency in Wales (+21.1%) and its highest constituency vote.
In his first term as an Assembly Member, he sat on the Economic Development and Transport Committee (later called the Enterprise, Innovation and Networks Committee)(January 2005 - April 2007); Audit Committee (June 2003 - April 2007); Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee (June 2003 - November 2005); and Education and Lifelong Learning Committee (June 2003 - January 2005).
His re-election in 2007 with Labour's highest vote in Wales, despite a national swing against Labour, was seen as an acknowledgment of his efforts.
Third Assembly
Andrews was appointed to the Welsh Assembly Government on 31 May 2007, as a Deputy Minister for Social Justice and Public Service Delivery, with special responsibility for housing. On July 19 he was appointed as Deputy Minister for Regeneration in the coalition government.
Burberry Campaign
He contributed towards the high-profile campaign to keep Burberry jobs in the Rhondda, however, some observers questioned his sincerity suggesting that "the Burberry Campaign is a convenient weapon of mass distraction for Labour" on the eve of the 2007 Assembly Elections.[4]. The Burberry Campaign failed with the factory closing in March 2007, with the loss of 300 jobs.[5].
His former employer, the BBC, recognised him and MP Chris Bryant as joint campaigners of the years in the 2007 BBC Wales political awards.[6]
Media
His media and debating skills were recognised in December 2005 when he was named as Best New AM in the ITV Wales Political Awards; and Best Communicator in the BBC Wales AM-PM awards.
References
External links
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Leighton Andrews. |
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