Jonathan edwards mp biography channel

Welsh independent politician

David Jonathan Edwards (born 26 April ) is a Welsh politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr from to Initially elected as a Plaid Cymru MP, he is the longest serving MP in the Carmarthen, having served for 14 years.

He sat as an Independent MP after the party's disciplinary panel suspended him in ^[3] His membership of Plaid was restored in July , and the whip was returned the following month^[4] although following further revelations he stated that he would not rejoin the Plaid group of MPs at Westminster.^[5]

Early life

David Jonathan Edwards was born in Carmarthenshire on 26 April ^[6][7] He was educated at Ysgol Maes yr Yrfa before studying history and politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

He went on to complete a postgraduate degree in international history.^[7]

Edwards worked as a staff member for Rhodri Glyn Thomas and Adam Price before working for Plaid Cymru from to He worked at Citizens Advice Cymru from to ^[8]

Political career

Price stood down as MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr before the general election.

Edwards was the new candidate for Plaid Cymru, and he was elected with % of the vote.^[9] In January , Edwards submitted an early day motion for a Cornish Assembly, being supported by fellow Plaid Cymru MPs Hywel Williams and Elfyn Llwyd, as well Paul Flynn of Labour.^[10] He ran Leanne Wood's successful campaign in the Plaid Cymru leadership election.^[11] In , Edwards criticised Wales rugby captain Sam Warburton for describing himself as British whilst representing the British and Irish Lions.^[12] In the run up to the Scottish independence referendum he was criticised for saying that unionists "loathe" their country.^[13]

Edwards was re-elected in the general election with % of the vote.

He was appointed as the leader of the Plaid Cymru group in the House of Commons in May , a role he held until October Edwards supports foxhunting and backed the Conservatives' plans to relax the Hunting Act in ^[14] The Welsh Conservatives criticised a leaflet Edwards wrote for Price in describing him as Mab Darogan, a figure from folklore destined to force the English out of Britain.^[15] In January , he called for the return of Welsh bank notes, which Plaid Cymru proposed could be issued by the Lloyds Banking Group,^[16] as well as calling for the renaming of the Bank of England to "Sterling Central Bank" to better reflect the UK as a whole.^[17] Acting as Plaid Cymru's Brexit spokesperson, Edwards described the Brexit bill as the "biggest job-killing act in Welsh economic history".^[18] He introduced an amendment which would have required the government to report on the effect on Wales' public finances, which was defeated.^[18]

He held his parliamentary seat during the general election with % of the vote.^[19] In a speech at Plaid Cymru's March spring conference, Edwards warned against his party moving any further to the left politically: "I would appeal to my party not to respond to the electoral challenges we face from Corbyn's Labour by basing our political strategy on the intricacies of socialist theory."^[20][21] Later that year, he criticised Wood as not understanding how important Brexit was, and endorsed Adam Price in the ensuing Plaid Cymru leadership election.^[11][22] In March , Edwards voted for an amendment tabled by members of The Independent Group calling for a second public vote on EU membership.^[23]

Edwards was re-elected in the United Kingdom general election with % of the vote.^[24]

Arrest

He was arrested on suspicion of assault on 20 May , and suspended from the Plaid Cymru group during the police investigation, sitting as an independent.^[25] On 27 June, Edwards accepted a police caution for domestic violence against his wife and he was suspended from Plaid Cymru pending an investigation.

He said he was "deeply sorry" and it was "the biggest regret" of his life; his wife Emma accepted his apology.^[26] Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, Fay Jones said Plaid had been too slow to respond, had failed to act and she believed that Plaid had "turn(ed) a blind eye" on the issue.^[27] On 15 July , Edwards was officially suspended from the party for 12 months after the disciplinary panel concluded its internal investigation.

Alun Ffred Jones, the chairman of Plaid Cymru, said: "All forms of harassment, abuse and violence are unacceptable, and this has been reflected in the verdict." Edwards was told that if he wished to rejoin the party, he would have to face the panel again to show that he has reflected and learnt from his actions.^[3]

One year after the suspension, Edwards remained an independent MP.^[28] Speaking to the South Wales Guardian, he confirmed that he had not applied to re-join the party and was yet to make any final decision about his future.

He said: "It's really easy to make hasty decisions about my career and I don't want to rush into anything at the moment. I have missed being part of the Plaid group and my parliamentary colleagues are great friends, but being an independent MP gives you a lot of flexibility. I have really enjoyed working to my own timetable and it could be three years until the next general election, so I'm going to take that time to work through some things before making a final decision."^[29]

On 25 February , he called the Russian invasion of Ukraine "a despicable act of imperialism that can't be defended on any count".^[30]

Readmission

In a May op-ed in The National Wales, former Plaid leader Leanne Wood claimed that if the party was "serious about stamping out misogyny and domestic abuse, there can be no way back for [Edwards]".^[31] Edwards was readmitted to Plaid Cymru in July , after being suspended for two years.^[32] A statement from the panel of the membership, discipline and standards committee read: "The same panel which imposed Jonathan Edwards' month suspension in July has now reconvened at Mr Edwards' request.

The panel unanimously agreed that the suspension of Mr Edwards' party membership should be lifted with immediate effect. In arriving at its decision, the panel agreed that Jonathan Edwards had satisfied the conditions placed upon him at the point of his suspension. The suspension imposed in July reflected the seriousness with which the panel dealt with the matter and reinforced its unequivocal stance that all forms of harassment, abuse and violence are unacceptable."^[33]Alun Ffred Jones quit as head of Plaid's NEC in protest at the NEC's recommendation that Edwards should remain an independent MP despite re-joining the party.^[34] His wife Emma Edwards told BBC Cymru Wales that she was "appalled" by Plaid's decision and claimed it would send out the message "that survivors of domestic abuse don't matter".^[35] On 13 August, Edwards announced he would not be rejoining the party group at Westminster.^[36]

In January Edwards claimed there was a "groundswell of support" in his constituency for him to stand for re-election come the next UK General Election.

"Part of the process of deciding what to do is the support I am receiving locally, and there is a lot of support from individuals locally," he told BBC Wales.^[37]

On 28 May , he announced he would stand down at the United Kingdom general election.^[38]

Personal life

Edwards lives in Ammanford in Carmarthenshire.

He has two children.

He was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his wife Emma in May ^[39] As of January , they had reportedly divorced.^[40]

References

External links