William Powell (Welsh politician)

William Powell
Member of the Welsh Assembly for Mid and West Wales
In office May 2011 – May 2016
Preceded by	Nick Bourne (Conservative)
Succeeded by	Neil Hamilton
Personal details
Nationality	British
Political party	Welsh Liberal Democrats
Alma mater	Pembroke College, Oxford

William "Bill" Powell is a Liberal Democrat politician and a member of the National Assembly of Wales between 2011 and 2016.

He was elected as the first Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for the Mid and West Wales region in the elections in May 2011.^[1] Since the election he has been Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environment, Sustainable Development and Rural Affairs.

Within the Assembly, William has been Chair of the Petitions Committee throughout the 4th Assembly and a member for the Environment and Sustainability Committee. Since 2011 he has represented the Welsh Liberal Democrats in the National Assembly on both the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA). William is also Chair of the Cross Party Group on Europe.

William has represented Talgarth ward on Powys County Council since 2004 and has been active in rural regeneration projects, including the restoration of Talgarth Mill, of which he is a founder Director. He is also a Member of the FUW, a Governor of Talgarth CP School and Gwernyfed High School. He is also a member of the Lloyd George Society, where he serves on the Committee. He is a former member of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.

For many years William has been one of the central figures in the European Movement in Wales. He was a founding Board Member of Wales in Europe and is an active Member of Wales Council European Movement, which he chaired for over a decade. In addition, he is a Council Member of the European Liberal Democrats (ALDE) which includes Liberal sister-parties from across Europe. In 1999 he stood for the pro European Conservatives in the European election in Wales but joined the Liberal Democrats shortly afterwards.

A close friend of the late Lord Richard Livsey, he has been central to the Welsh Liberal Democrats presence in Brecon and Radnor since the turn of the 21st century.

Having been introduced to it by the late Lord Livsey, William has consistently attended the annual Cilmeri commemoration to mark the last battle of Prince Llywelyn.^[2][3]

William attended Talgarth Community Primary School and Gwernyfed High School, gaining a scholarship to read Modern Languages (French and German) at Pembroke College, Oxford. He is a qualified teacher and has taught French and German at a number of schools in Wales and the Marches. Latterly, William was Head of German at Hereford Sixth Form College, where he was also the European Officer.

He now lives with his family on their farm in the Black Mountains near Talgarth, Powys, where his ancestors have farmed since the 18th Century.

In 1998 he was awarded County Winner of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society Agri-Environment Award. In 2015 William was shortlisted for the Wales Green Energy Awards in recognition for his tireless support for renewable energy throughout his time as an Assembly Member. He speaks positively and consistently about the topic during Plenary sessions, and has worked with energy companies to try and advance their case, whilst at the same time ensuring that the communities and businesses he represents have their voices heard.

As Chair of the Assembly’s Petitions Committee, he has been central to a number of successful petitions, including one on term-time school holidays,^[4] one calling for the construction of a second Dyfi bridge^[5] and a further one which successfully resulted in the reinstatement of the Diabetes Reference Group for Powys.^[6]

In January 2014, the BBC^[7] and Western Mail ^[8] reported that William Powell had been given a formal warning by the Liberal Democrats for inappropriate behaviour towards a young female party activist.

In July 2014,^[9] William Powell hit out at Alun Davies AM for seeking to gain personal information on him and four other Assembly Members, Andrew RT Davies, Llyr Huws Gruffydd, Kirsty Williams and Antoinette Sandbach, regarding EU farming subsidies received by their respective family businesses. Alum Davies believed this caused a conflict of interest, however the Minister’s actions led directly to his sacking by First Minister Carwyn Jones and Alun Davies subsequently issued a personal apology to all AMs involved regarding EU farming subsidies received by their respective family businesses.^[10]

William Powell lost his Welsh Assembly seat in 2016 to UKIP.

References

Offices held