Elizabeth "Buffy" Williams (born 1 November 1976) is a Welsh politician who is the

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 ...

Member of the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

for

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ('' ...

. She won the seat from former

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

leader

Leanne Wood Leanne Wood (born 13 December 1971) is a Welsh politician who served as the leader of Plaid Cymru from March 2012 to September 2018, and served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) from 2003 to 2021. Born in the Rhondda, she was elected as to the ...

in the

2021 Senedd election 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Early life and career

Williams was born and brought up in the

community of

Williamstown, Rhondda Cynon Taf Williamstown ( cy, Trewiliam) is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Williamstown was founded in the 1870s, is located at the foot of Mynydd Dinas ...

, the daughter of a trade union activist. She left school at the age of sixteen to work in a factory, but continued studying. Williams is the manager of a community centre, and worked for more than 20 years in the third sector, having set up Canolfan Pentre. Other campaigns she has been involved with include saving the local A&E in the

Royal Glamorgan Hospital The Royal Glamorgan Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Brenhinol Morgannwg), is a District General Hospital in Ynysmaerdy, Talbot Green, Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is managed by the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board. History The hospital wa ...

from a closure proposed by her own party, and helping in response to the floods caused by

Storm Dennis Storm Dennis was a European windstorm which, in February 2020, became one of the most intense extratropical cyclones ever recorded, reaching a minimum central pressure of . The thirteenth named storm of the 2019–20 European windstorm season, De ...

. In March 2021, the Labour Party was criticised for nominating Williams for a Welsh Government award, the

St David Awards The Saint David Awards (Welsh: ''Gwobrau Dewi Sant'') are an annual government awards scheme which recognizes exceptional achievements by Welsh citizens within Wales, the UK and globally. They are the highest accolades that the Welsh Governmen ...

, after she had been selected as a candidate for the Senedd elections. The

Welsh Conservatives The Welsh Conservatives ( cy, Ceidwadwyr Cymreig) is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At Westminster elections, it is the second most popular political party in Wales, having obtained the second-large ...

asked whether it was appropriate "for the first minister to be seen to be using the prestigious St David Awards to reward his Labour election candidates." Williams won the Rhondda constituency seat on 6 May 2021 from the former Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, with a majority of 5,497.

Personal life

She is married with three children and lives in

Pentre Pentre is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward near Treorchy in the Rhondda valley, falling within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's name is taken from the Welsh word Pentref, which translates as ...

, the Rhondda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Buffy 1976 births Living people Female members of the Senedd People from Rhondda Cynon Taf Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Wales MSs 2021–2026