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Laura Anne Jones
Laura Anne Jones (born 21 February 1979) is a Conservative politician who has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the South Wales East electoral region since July 2020, having previously held the same seat as an Assembly Member (AM) in the National Assembly for Wales between 2003 and 2007. Jones also served as a county councillor for the Wyesham ward in Monmouthshire County Council from 2017 to 2022.[3] BackgroundThe daughter of a farmer and a lecturer, Jones was born in Newport and brought up in Monmouthshire. She attended the University of Plymouth, where she studied politics.[4] Political careerShe joined the Conservatives in 1996 and was involved in Conservative Future, the party's youth wing. In December 2002 she was banned from driving for a year and fined £75, for drunk driving.[4][5] First Senedd period (2003-2007)Jones contested the South Wales East list and the Caerphilly constituency at the 2003 Welsh Assembly elections. She came third in Caerphilly, with 10.1% of the vote,[6] but was elected to represent South Wales East, as the second Conservative on the list.[7] She was the youngest member of the Second Assembly, and the joint-first Welsh Conservative female AM.[8][9] She said to the BBC at the time that she was "completely shocked" to have been elected.[4] She was appointed as the Conservative spokeswoman on sport,[8][10] and sat on the Culture, Sport and Welsh Language, and Local Government and Public Services committees. During her time as Welsh Conservative Sports Spokesperson she criticised the Welsh Government's plans to provide free summertime swimming in 2003, arguing that free swimming lessons would have been a better use of money.[11] Her profile was increased when she appeared on the BBC television programme Question Time in February 2004. Jones attempted to gain the nomination to replace David TC Davies as candidate for the Monmouth constituency, after Davies was elected to the UK Parliament.[12] She did not receive the seat, with Nick Ramsay, then a party staffer in the Assembly, being selected.[13] Jones lost her seat in the Assembly in the 2007 Assembly election when Plaid Cymru gained one seat in the South Wales East region at the expense of the Conservatives. In January 2007, Jones claimed for a £1,109.94 television on her expenses.[14][15][16] Between Senedd termsAt the 2015 general election she contested the safe Labour seat of Islwyn for the Conservatives and finished third with 5,366 votes.[17][18] At the 2019 general election she contested the Labour seat of Blaenau Gwent for the Conservatives and finished third with 5,749 votes.[19][20] In the 2017 Welsh local elections she was elected to the Wyesham ward on Monmouthshire County Council winning 42% of the vote and defeating Welsh Labour's Catherine Fookes.[21] She did not contest the 2022 Monmouthshire County Council elections.[22] Her previous ward, Wyesham, elected an independent candidate.[23] Second Senedd period (2020-)Following the death of Mohammad Asghar in June 2020, it was confirmed in July 2020 that Jones would become the MS for South Wales East, having been the next Conservative candidate on the regional list in the Assembly's 2016 election.[24][25] She was appointed as Shadow Minister for Equalities, Children and Young People by Paul Davies shortly after.[26] In January 2021, after Paul Davies stood down as leader and was replaced by Andrew RT Davies, when her role was expanded to include Housing and Local Government.[27] These roles ceased to be shadow ministries in March 2021, after Nick Ramsay stood down to contest the 2021 Senedd Elections as an independent.[28] She was re-elected at the 2021 Senedd election. After the elections, she was appointed as Shadow Minister for Education.[29] She held this role until the April 2024 reshuffle, where she was moved to the Shadow Culture portfolio, which she held for just under 2 months.[30] In 2021, past Facebook posts from Jones surfaced in which she said "I would like to do a spot of Chav shooting" and "a shame that isn't legal."[31] Jones apologised for the comments. In May 2024 it was reported that Jones was being investigated by both South Wales Police and the Senedd’s Standards Commissioner for allegedly falsifying expenses claims.[32][33] In June 2024, messages were released which appeared to show Jones instructing staff to claim expenses for more petrol than she used.[33] Jones was asked to stand down from her role in Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet shortly after the release of the messages.[1] In October 2024, the investigation into this matter was re-opened, having been apparently dropped at an unknown earlier point in time.[34] In December 2024, she was cleared by the South Wales Police, with the investigation being handed back to the Senedd Standards Commissioner, Douglas Bain.[35] In August 2024, further messages were released that showed Jones using a racial slur, saying "No chinky spies for me!", in the context of discussion about use of the social media app TikTok within the Welsh Conservative group.[36][37][38] Her use of the term was condemned by Welsh Conservative colleague Natasha Asghar, who said she was "positively livid" and that "language like this is unacceptable at every level".[36][38] In September 2024, former AM and Wales Secretary David T. C. Davies joined Jones' staff.[39] Shortly after Andrew RT Davies announced his resignation as leader of the Welsh Conservatives, he told the BBC that Jones had been re-admitted into the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport.[40] Jones voted that she had confidence in Davies, and seconded a motion requiring the vote to be held as a show of hands, rather than as a secret ballot as had initially been expected.[41][42][43] References
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