Lesley Griffiths
MS
Official portrait, 2019
Trefnydd of the Senedd
Assumed office
13 May 2021
First MinisterMark Drakeford
Preceded byRebecca Evans
Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales
Assumed office
19 May 2016
First MinisterCarwyn Jones
Mark Drakeford
Preceded byCarl Sargeant
Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty
In office
11 September 2014[1] – 19 May 2016
First MinisterCarwyn Jones
Preceded byJeffrey Cuthbert
Succeeded byCarl Sargeant
Minister for Local Government and Government Business
In office
14 March 2013[2] – 11 September 2014
First MinisterCarwyn Jones
Preceded byCarl Sargeant
Succeeded byLeighton Andrews (Public Services)
Jane Hutt (Government Business)
Minister for Health and Social Services
In office
11 May 2011 – 14 March 2013
First MinisterCarwyn Jones
Preceded byEdwina Hart
Succeeded byMark Drakeford
Member of the Senedd
for Wrexham
Assumed office
3 May 2007
Preceded byJohn Marek
Majority1,350 (6.0%)
Personal details
Born1960 (age 63–64)
Political partyWelsh Labour
OccupationPolitical Advisor
WebsiteWelsh Labour

Susan Lesley Griffiths MS (born 1960), known as Lesley Griffiths, is a Welsh Labour[3] politician serving as Trefnydd of the Senedd and Minister for North Wales since 2021, and Minister for Rural Affairs since 2016. She worked as a secretary to John Marek and the constituency assistant to Ian Lucas, successive Members of Parliament for Wrexham, and was elected to the Senedd from the Wrexham constituency in 2007. She has held a number of cabinet positions in the Welsh Government. In December 2009 she was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills.[4]

In 2011, she was appointed Minister for Health and Social Services.[5] She was then appointed Minister for Local Government and Government Business in March 2013.[4] In September 2014 she was appointed Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.[6] Following the 2016 election, she was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs following her own re-election.[4] She retained her post in a Welsh Government Cabinet reshuffle in November 2017, but with a revised portfolio of Energy, Planning, and Rural Affairs[7] with Hannah Blythyn becoming her Deputy Minister for the Environment.

2003 campaign

Griffiths was the secretary of John Marek, who represented Wrexham as a Labour member of the Welsh Assembly. However, in 2003 Marek was de-selected by the local party and Griffiths was selected in his place. There followed a Labour Party inquiry, in which Marek was first contacted by telephone half an hour before the result was announced, and his de-selection was upheld. Marek then decided to fight to retain his seat as an Independent,[8] and Griffiths struggled during the campaign; an early poll showed Marek beating her by 40% to 29%.[9] In the event, on polling day Marek beat Griffiths by 973 votes.

Subsequent elections

Having been a supporter of Wrexham Football Club, Griffiths was elected to the board of the Wrexham Supporters Trust. In December 2005 she was selected again as Labour candidate for the Wrexham constituency for the 2007 Assembly elections. She benefited from high-profile support as the party saw an opportunity to recapture the seat; John Marek appealed to the large Polish immigrant population by translating his election material into Polish.[10] However, Griffiths increased her numerical vote while Marek's vote fell, and she won the seat by 1,250.

In 2011, Griffiths faced Marek for a third time, though by now Marek had joined the Conservatives. Both of them saw increases in their votes compared to 2007, but Griffiths held the seat with an increased majority of 3,337.[11] Griffiths was re-selected to defend her seat at the 2016 election.,[12] and retained it with a reduced majority of 1,325 over the Conservative candidate.[13]

Ministerial responsibility

Griffiths was appointed Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills in December 2009.[14] After the 2011 election, she was promoted to the Minister for Health and Social Services, a post she held until March 2013 when she was appointed Minister for Local Government and Government Business. In September 2014 she was appointed Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty.[6] She was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs following re-election in May 2016,[4] before being named in her current role of Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning, and Rural Affairs in November 2017.

In October 2018 Griffiths used her ministerial office to overturn the decision of a planning inspector to refuse a proposed wind farm near Llandrindod Wells. In November the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales announced that it was challenging this in the High Court.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Leighton Andrews rejoins cabinet in reshuffle". 11 September 2014 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Welsh government reshuffle: Mark Drakeford new health minister". 14 March 2013 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Member Profile". Welsh Parliament.
  4. ^ a b c d "Lesley Griffiths MS: Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs". Gov.Wales. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Welsh Government | "New Team Delivers for Wales"". Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Welsh Government | Lesley Griffiths AM". Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Welsh Government | Written Statement – Ministerial changes". gov.wales. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  8. ^ Martin Shipton, "Marek likely to stand as independent", Western Mail, 12 March 2003.
  9. ^ Kirsty Buchanan, "Marek beating Labour", Western Mail, 11 April 2003.
  10. ^ Allegra Stratton, "'Glosuj na mnie!'", New Statesman, 30 April 2007.
  11. ^ "BBC News – Election 2011". BBC News. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Starting Gun Fired For Wrexham's National Assembly For Wales Election 2016". wrexham.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Wrexham – Welsh Assembly constituency – Election 2016". BBC News. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  14. ^ "Welsh Assembly Government:Lesley Griffiths AM". Welsh Assembly Government website. Welsh Assembly Government. 2010. Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  15. ^ Josie Le Vay, Llandrindod Wells: CPRW launch High Court bid to challenge Lesley Griffiths AM's Hendy Wind Farm decision in Powys County Times dated 30 November 2018, accessed 1 December 2018

External links

Offices held

Senedd Preceded byJohn Marek Member of the Senedd for Wrexham 2007–present Incumbent Political offices Preceded byJohn Griffiths Deputy Minister for Science, Innovation and Skills 2009–2011 Succeeded byJeff Cuthbert Preceded byEdwina Hart Minister for Health and Social Services 2011–2013 Succeeded byMark Drakeford New post Minister for Communities 2013–2016 Succeeded byCarl Sargeant New post Minister for Rural Affairs 2016–present Incumbent Previous:Ken Skates Minister for North Wales 2021–present Incumbent
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