Beth Winter
MP
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Cynon Valley
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byAnn Clwyd
Majority8,822 (29.2%)
Personal details
Born
Bethan Winter

(1974-10-04) 4 October 1974
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Campaign Group (2019–present)
Alma materUniversity of Bristol (BSc) (MA)
Swansea University (PhD)
Websitewww.bethwinter.wales

Bethan Winter[1] (born 4 October 1974)[2] is a Welsh Labour Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cynon Valley since the 2019 general election.[3][4] She is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group parliamentary caucus.

Early life and education

Winter was born and raised in Cynon Valley.[5] She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Social Policy and a Master of Arts in Housing Studies, both from the University of Bristol. She later became a researcher and received a PhD from Swansea University in disadvantage among older people in rural communities.[6]

Career

Winter has worked in RCT for Shelter Cymru and in Penywaun as a community worker, and has also managed a youth club and worked in a food bank. She is an official for the University and College Union.[7]

On entering Parliament following the 2019 general election, Winter was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rachel Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. However, she resigned in September 2020, when she defied the Labour whip and voted against the Overseas Operations Bill alongside 18 other Labour MPs, including two other junior office holders, Nadia Whittome and Olivia Blake.[8]

On 24 February 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Winter was one of 11 Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip after they signed a statement by the Stop the War Coalition which questioned the legitimacy of NATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures.[9]

In May 2023, she called the Welsh Labour selection of prospective parliamentary candidates for the next general election "undemocratic".[10] On 7 June 2023, Winter was defeated by Gerald Jones for her party's selection to become the Labour candidate for the new parliamentary seat of Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon, which will be contested at the next UK general election.[11] The seat was ultimately renamed Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare in the final recommendations published late in June.[12]

Personal life

Winter has three children. Three generations of her family participated in the September 2019 climate strikes at the Senedd building.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. ↑ "Candidates in Cynon Valley". Who Can I Vote For. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  4. ↑ "Cynon Valley Parliamentary constituency". BBC.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home: The House. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "Ms Bethan Winter". Swansea. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  7. 1 2 Mosalski, Ruth (13 December 2019). "General Election 2019 result for Cynon Valley: The new MP and the constituency vote totals". Wales Online. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  8. ↑ Sabbagh, Dan; Stewart, Heather (23 September 2020). "Three Labour MPs lose roles after voting against overseas operations bill". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Wearmouth, Rachel (24 February 2022). "11 Labour MPs threatened with suspension for signing Stop The War letter attacking NATO". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  10. ↑ Neame, Katie (15 May 2023). "Left-wing MP: Rules for selection race against frontbencher "undemocratic"". LabourList. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  11. ↑ "Welsh Labour: Frontbench MP beats left-winger in seat battle". BBC News. BBC. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  12. ↑ 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales (PDF). Boundary Commission for Wales. 28 June 2023.
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