Buffy Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams in 2021 | |
| Member of the Senedd forRhondda | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Leanne Wood |
| Majority | 5,497 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1976-11-01)1 November 1976 (age 48) Williamstown,Rhondda,Wales |
| Political party | Welsh Labour |
| Residence(s) | Pentre, Rhondda, Wales |
Elizabeth "Buffy"Williams (born 1 November 1976) is a Welsh politician who is theLabour Member of theSenedd forRhondda.
She won the seat from formerPlaid Cymru leaderLeanne Wood in the2021 Senedd election.
Williams was born and brought up in theRhondda community ofWilliamstown, Rhondda Cynon Taf, the daughter of a trade union activist. She left school at the age of sixteen to work in a factory, but continued studying.[1]
Williams is the manager of a community centre,[2] 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 theRoyal Glamorgan Hospital from a closure proposed by her own party, and helping in response to the floods caused byStorm Dennis.[3]
In March 2021, the Labour Party was criticised for nominating Williams for a Welsh Government award, theSt David Awards, after she had been selected as a candidate for the Senedd elections.[2] TheWelsh Conservatives 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."[2]
Williams won the Rhondda constituency seat on 6 May 2021 from the former Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, with a majority of 5,497.[4][5]
In February 2025 during a trial atMerthyr Tydfil, it emerged that a member of staff from Ms Williams’ office had made a complaint to the Police that resulted in a formerRoyal Marine Commando, Jamie Michael, being charged and prosecuted for inciting racial hatred. The complaint related to a Facebook video he had posted in the aftermath of the2024 Southport stabbings, in which he stated "we are under attack" from migrants, which he referred to as "psychopaths" and "scumbags".[6] Michael was acquitted. In the aftermath, Williams received significant online abuse, largely fromfar-right groups.[7]
She is married with three children and lives inPentre, the Rhondda.[1]