Kirsty Williams: Creating the Senedd, Coalition Governments and the Constitution

Hiraeth - Welsh Politics

Few members of the Senedd are near-universally respected by those of all political persuasions (and none) in the way that Kirsty Williams is. From being an enthusiastic campaigner for devolution in the 1990s, Kirsty became a much-admired constituency AM/MS for 22 years representing Brecon and Radnor including a spell leading the Welsh Liberal Democrats and finishing her Senedd career with a term as Education Minister in the Welsh Government 2016-2021. In the course of her time in frontline politics, Kirsty was also in pivotal roles during key moments in recent democratic history. She was one of the Liberal Democrat opponents to the proposed Plaid Cymru-Conservative-Liberal Democrat 'Rainbow Coalition' in 2007 and she was leader of the party as, across the border, Nick Clegg led the Lib Dems into a coalition with David Cameron's Conservatives. Kirsty was also the pivotal vote back in 2016 that re-nominated Carwyn Jones as First Minister after dramatic scenes where the Conservatives and UKIP (!) backed Plaid Cymru's Leanne Wood to take the role. So, who better to reflect on 25 years since Wales voted for devolution, the present political climate and, in her capacity as member of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, ambitions for the future of Welsh politics? You can follow Kirsty on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/Kirsty_Williams And, of course, follow us on Twitter here for all the latest: https://twitter.com/HiraethPod The artwork for the pod comes from the wonderful collection of Welsh politics pop art images created by Louis Mertens: https://twitter.com/LouisPMertens If you're enjoying the pod, please leave us a rating and review in your podcast app of choice and, if you are able to, please consider becoming a Patreon from just £3/month: www.patreon.com/hiraethpod