Bethan Sayed | |
|---|---|
_(2).jpg) Jenkins in 2016 | |
| Member of the Senedd forSouth Wales West | |
| In office 3 May 2007 – 29 April 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Janet Davies |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1981-12-09)9 December 1981 (age 43) Aberdare, Wales |
| Political party | Plaid Cymru |
| Alma mater | Aberystwyth University |
Bethan Sayed (néeJenkins, born 9 December 1981) is a Welsh politician. She represented theSouth Wales West region forPlaid Cymru as aMember of the Senedd from 2007 to 2021.
Sayed was born inAberdare, the daughter of poetMike Jenkins.[1] She grew up inMerthyr Tydfil, where both her parents were involved in theanti-apartheid movement of the 1980s and early 1990s.[2] Her brother is theChannel 4 News reporterCiaran Jenkins.
She was educated atYsgol Gyfun Rhydfelen, nearPontypridd.[3] She graduated with aBScEcon degree in International Politics and International History at theUniversity of Wales, Aberystwyth in 2005.[4][5]Through student politics, she was elected to theAberystwyth Guild of Students executive, and was serving as Guild President by 2004.[6] With the organisationCymru X she has served as a national organiser of the party's youth wing.[7]
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In 2006, Jenkins was selected as Plaid Cymru's lead candidate for the South West Wales Regional list and was duly elected in the subsequentelections of May 2007.[8][9] Jenkins was initially Plaid Cymru's Child Poverty and Culture Spokesperson for the Plaid Cymru group at the National Assembly, and sat on the Communities and Culture committee, Audit committee, and the Petitions Committee.[citation needed]
In 2012, Jenkins was appointed Plaid's spokesperson for Heritage,Welsh language and Sport.[10][11] She was chairperson for the Assembly's Cross Party Eating Disorder Group, and formed a new cross party group on human rights.[12] Jenkins has been an outspokenrepublican. Alongside her Plaid Cymru colleague,Leanne Wood, she is a member of the groupRepublic.[13][14] In 2022, she opposed the accession ofCharles III asKing of the United Kingdom andPrince William taking the title "Prince of Wales" (seeOpposition to the Prince of Wales title).[15]
In August 2020, Sayed announced she would not be standing in the2021 Senedd election.[16][17]
During her first year as anAM (a member of the thenWelsh Assembly), she claimed over £10,000 in expenses, including spending £750 per month on a second home inCardiff after claiming it would not be possible for her to do her job without the second home.[18] Assembly Members (AMs) representingSouth Wales were later barred from claiming a second home allowance, but were permitted to claim up to 20 nights in Cardiff hotels provided they were working the next morning.[19] In 2013, Jenkins was criticised for claiming a nights stay in a Cardiff hotel after attending aRihanna concert. Jenkins later repaid the money claimed.[20]
In June 2012, Jenkins calledMartin McGuinness, the thenDeputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, "naive" in light of him meetingQueen Elizabeth II at a charity reception. AfterWelsh Labour members highlighted the comments, Jenkins said that she was appalled at being accused of "trying to destabilise" the Northern Irish peace process, and that she was giving upTwitter for the time being.[21]
Early in the hours of 14 October 2012, Jenkins was arrested bySouth Wales Police inLlandaff, Cardiff, for driving erratically. When tested for alcohol, she was more than twice the legal limit. She was released on bail by police pending further enquiries. Jenkins issued a statement, stating that there were "no excuses" for what she had done, and that she had resigned her position as Plaid's spokeswoman on heritage, theWelsh language and sport. Her statement also stated that she had been receiving professional medical help fordepression. On Monday, 15 October 2012, Jenkins was suspended from the Plaid group of AMs "while the process of justice takes its course".[22] On 12 November 2012, Jenkins was charged with drink driving,[23] and on 19 December was banned from driving for 20 months.[24]
In the wake of a damning report that found "a culture of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination" within Plaid Cymru, Sayed (as Jenkins had become known) claimed that party leaderAdam Price had known about those issues for years.[25]
In February 2018, she married Rahil Sayed,[26] who is originally fromMumbai and works inBollywood.[27] Bethan also announced she would be changing her surname to Sayed for both personal and professional purposes.[28] They have a son, Idris.[27]
Sayed has called for the abolition of theCrown Estates. "The Crown Estate owns significant chunks of the Welsh coastline, yet the decisions about how to manage and develop these areas are made by people in another country who have no connection to the people or the land," she said. "That is why we are calling for the Crown Estate to be taken into democratic public ownership. We could choose to use the land for creating new green jobs or investing in renewable energy. Taking this action on the birthday of the King is symbolic – we are saying no more – give us back our land. We hope people from across Wales will take part where Crown Estate land exists nearby – because it most certainly will stretch the length of Wales unfortunately."[29]
| Senedd | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Senedd forSouth Wales West 2007–2021 | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Baby of the House 2007–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Incumbent | ||
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by TBD | Shadow Minister for Housing, Poverty, Communities & Steel 2016–2021 | Incumbent |
