Betty Helena Williams (née Williams; born 31 July 1944) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician, who was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on ...

from

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Early life

Williams was born in St David's Hospital,

Bangor, Gwynedd Bangor (; ) is a cathedral city and community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. She attended

Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle is a bilingual secondary school for pupils aged between 11 and 18 years. It is situated in Pen-y-groes in Gwynedd, north Wales. The school serves the village of Pen-y-groes and the surrounding rural area. As of 2022, t ...

in Penygroes, near

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

, and also attended Bangor Normal College. Her political career began in 1967 when she was elected to become a member of the Llanllyfni Parish Council. She proceeded to serve as a district council, and more recently in 1990 as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Arfon. Williams is a former chair of a community centre, as well as a former

Christian Aid Christian Aid is the relief and development agency of 41 Christian (Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox) churches in the UK and Ireland, and works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster ...

and

Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels is a programme that delivers meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meals programmes, not all of which are actually named ...

organiser, and an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

of the

University of Wales, Bangor Bangor University ( cy, Prifysgol Bangor) is a Public university, public university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor, Wales. It received its Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 and was one of the founding institutions of the federal University of Wales ...

. She worked as a secretary and freelance journalist.

Parliamentary career

Williams successfully contested

in 1983 and Conwy in 1987 and 1992. In 1995, she was again selected to stand for election for Labour in Conwy, though this time through an

all-women shortlist All-women shortlists (AWS) is an affirmative action practice intended to increase the proportion of female Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom, allowing only women to stand in particular constituencies for a particular political p ...

. She was a member of the

Parliamentary Labour Party In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in Parliament, i.e. Labour MPs as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour P ...

committees on education and employment; health and social services, and culture, media and sport. In 2009 she supported

Carwyn Jones Carwyn Howell Jones (born 21 March 1967) is a Welsh politician who served as First Minister of Wales and Leader of Welsh Labour from 2009 to 2018. He served as Counsel General for Wales from 2007 to 2009. Jones served as the Member of the S ...

in the election for First Minister, strongly criticising his opponent

Edwina Hart Edwina Hart, MBE (born 26 April 1957) is a Welsh LabourAssemb ...

for dismissing suggestions that the First Minister needed to be able to speak the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

. Williams said: "“I think it’s important that we have someone who is bilingual as First Minister of Wales, like we’ve had with Rhodri who can conduct interviews through the medium of Welsh or English.” She was also a member of the

All-Party Parliamentary Group An all-party parliamentary group (APPG) is a grouping in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that is composed of members of parliament from all political parties, but have no official status within Parliament. Description and functions All-party ...

s in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

covering children in Wales, primary

headache Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches. Headaches can occur as a result ...

disorders,

maternity ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestati ...

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

and

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

-damaged children. In September 2008, Williams announced that she would not be contesting her parliamentary seat at the 2010 general election. She stated that this was due to her wanting to 'change the balance' of her workload.

Personal life

Williams was married to Evan Williams with two sons; Williams is both her married and maiden name. She has a BA from the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

. Her interests include opera and sheepdog trials. Her husband Evan died on 10 April 2020 of complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, after twice being tested negative for the disease.

References

External links

Betty Williams MP
TheyWorkForYou.com
Betty Williams MP voting record
The Public Whip

News items

Conwy MP Betty Williams to retire
BBC News, 11 September 2008.
MPs 'smoking in Commons toilets'
BBC News, 5 July 2007.
MP calls for school car ban
BBC News, 6 December 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Betty 1944 births Alumni of the University of Wales Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies Living people Welsh Labour Party MPs Mayors of places in Wales UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 People from Gwynedd Women mayors of places in Wales Welsh-speaking politicians 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians