Thu, 3rd September Cardiff 20°
Nation.Cymru wordmark
Advertisement

News

Lee Waters to stand down from Senedd

By Mark Mansfield
Lee Waters with a T22 bus

Martin Shipton

Former Economy and Transport Deputy Minister Lee Waters has announced that he will not be standing at the next Senedd election in 2026.

In a letter to members of his local party in Llanelli, Mr Waters wrote: “The Labour Party are about to begin the process for choosing candidates for the next Senedd election in 2026 and they have asked sitting Senedd Members to let them know whether they want to be reselected.

“I have today let Welsh Labour's General Secretary, and the Chair of Llanelli Constituency Labour Party, know that I won’t be putting my name forward for re-selection.

“By the time of the next election I will have spent a full decade in our Senedd. I’ve never considered elected office to be a career, but a public service. I’ve given 100% of myself to the role and have tried my very best, both as a constituency representative and as a Minister.

“I’m grateful to members for their support, and to the people in Llanelli and the Gwendraeth valley for giving me the chance to serve. It has been a genuine privilege, and an enormous challenge.

“I’ve always thought that the task of tackling Wales’ problems is best approached as a relay race, and I feel it’s time now to hand on the baton to some fresh legs so that others can have their chance to make a contribution.

“I expect the process for selecting six candidates for the new, larger, seat of Carmarthenshire will begin some time next year from the spring onwards. It is vital that we have the best possible range of candidates for members to choose from so that we can have a strong representation in our area.

“Thank you again for your ongoing support. I will continue to do my best until the end of this Senedd term.”

[mid-content-banner]

20 mph speed limit

Mr Waters was the architect of the 20mph default speed limit on Wales’ roads - a fact that led to his getting a lot of abuse both in person and on social media. He was also targeted for harassment by far-right thugs.

Despite conceding that the roll-out of the lower speed limit could have been done better, Mr Waters has defended it as a life-saving measure, Accident statistics appear to have vindicated the policy.

Originally from Ammanford, Mr Waters studied politics at Aberystwyth University and later worked as a researcher for former Secretary of State for Wales Ron Davies.

He worked as a journalist for both BBC Wales and ITV Wales.

[lower-mid-content-banner]

Sustrans

Later he became director in Wales of the active travel charity Sustrans and of the think tank the Institute of Welsh Affairs.

He was first elected to the then National Assembly in 2016 and was re-elected in 2021.

Earlier this week he was appointed to help a drive to build 20,000 new low carbon social homes for rent,

Mr Waters hasn’t been a conventional politician and on occasion has been surprisingly candid. In 2019 he made a speech in which he stated: "The truth is we don't really know what we're doing on the economy."

The comment was seized on by opposition politicians as a gaffe, but some others saw it as refreshingly honest.

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News

13 comments

Maesglas

One of the only honest Labour politicians. He was one of the few to speak out against the behaviour of Vaughan Gething and the only Labour politician I know who realises that Labour must renew itself to become a meaningful party again. Unfortunately, I feel that other Welsh and UK Labour MPs are more interested in fulfilling career ambitions nowadays than engaging in debate.

Reply
Brychan

He now lives in the Vale of Glamorgan so would not be eligible to be a candidate for Carmarthenshire.

Reply
Dewi

I don’t think that’s correct; he needs to live in Wales is the only criteria .

Reply
Cablestreet

Firstly, given the relentless abuse and threats Lee Waters has had to endure from the far right over the Stradey Park asylum seekers fiasco I don’t blame him one bit for standing down. Secondly, the 20 mph speed limit is not a disaster, it’s been implemented all over the UK so you might as well suck it up and live with it.

Reply
J Jones

My point has nothing to do with racist fascists who should be kicked out of Cymru, It's about Senedd pet projects that give this country a 'horse and cart' economy, meaning we're not fit to be self governing and the independent country we should become. As for suck it up and live with it, I still drive at 10mph outside schools when required and 30mph elsewhere regardless of the temporary Lee Waters signs, whether they've already being taken down or soon to be taken down. No place for corruption or incompetence in our national governance, it's a shame he'll be sat next to Vaughan Gething in the jobcentre soon, but hopefully a lesson to all politicians that they will follow if they act the same way.

Reply
Mab Meirion

Trains and Boats and Planes, if it wasn't for our buses we would be on shanks' pony... Although given the billions spent on transport this essential passing spot was rudimentary in extreme...reliant on luck...that a set of conditions did not take a life...

Reply
Dewi

Right, it might seem a bit odd to say this, but I actually find him very likeable, and he’s clearly a man of principle. To be honest, he’d have made a much better First Minister than Ms. Morgan – no question about it. I still remember how he handled the whole Ron Davies situation – calm and composed throughout. And as for the 20-mile-an-hour speed limit, I have to admit, I was wrong. If it saves even one child from a serious accident, then it’s more than justified. Fair play to him for sticking to his guns on that one. Plaid Cymru will probably do better in Llanelli without him in the mix, though. Stepping aside was probably the right move for everyone involved. And credit to him for the way he stood up to those racists who tried to stir trouble locally – he handled that with dignity and strength. I’ve never really understood why Labour thought he wasn't First Minister material. He’s clearly well-meaning, but just didn’t seem suited to that role. It’s a shame Plaid backed him over during the no confidence vote, Adam Price must have seen something in him that the Labour Party didn’t quite get.

Reply
adopted cardi

A really good man, was 1000% right on the 20 mph, and that's speaking as an ex long distance driver, so have seen a thing or two on the road. Lee should have been be in Plaid. Labour is a complete waste of time for working people, gone back on all its principals.

Reply
Jones

Consider the general election result in Llanelli and the hijacking of the Stradey Park row by ciminals and right wing thugs who turned that into a near electoral win. He knows he will lose to Reform who will throw all they have at the seat, aided by foreign money. What has happened and is happening to that town is disasterous for democracy and its people. LW probably had enough of their persecuting antics as well.

Reply
CapM

There will be no Llanelli seat/constituency for any party's candidate to contest. It looks like the relevant new constituency, which will elect six Senedd members will be Carmarthenshire.

Reply
RJ700

Bullheadedly pushed his Sustrans agenda and now bailing because he knows a huge swathe of the country hates him. Need Drakeford, Gething, Skates, Hutt and the current FM gone too and not just out of the Senedd they need running out of the country.

Reply
Yuri Nator

I completely agree. When Gething said during his leadership campaign earlier in the year that ministers needed to, “listen and not lecture” the public, I took that to be a thinly veiled remark at Lee Waters. He certainly fitted that description of someone who lectured. Quite a few people tried to engage with him politely on his social media and if he had shown a little humility, it would have gone a long way. His stock response was just to paste some quote from a report he’d likely had commissioned without actually responding to points people made. All the names you mentioned need to stand down by 2026 in my view. Baroness Morgan and Antoniw can be added to the list too. Career politicians who have done very little other than feathering their own nests.

Reply
Fanny Hill

“Tried to engage with him politely on social media”? He had endless abuse from far right trolls about the 20 mph limit and the Stradey Park Hotel. At least Lee Waters stood by what he set out to do regardless.

Reply

Leave a reply

Replying to Cablestreet Cancel

Firstly, given the relentless abuse and threats Lee Waters has had to endure from the far right over the Stradey Park asylum seekers fiasco I don’t blame him one bit for standing down. Secondly, the 20 mph speed limit is not a disaster,...

Comments are reviewed before they appear.