Bethan Winter (born 4 October 1974) is a Welsh politician and former member of

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour (), formerly known as the Labour Party in Wales (), is an autonomous section of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK), Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears have won a p ...

, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. It lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash in the south. From 1974 to 19 ...

from

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Early life and education

Bethan Winter was born on 4 October 1974 and raised in

. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Social Policy and a Master of Arts in Housing Studies, both from the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. She later became a researcher and received a PhD from

Swansea University Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

in disadvantage among older people in rural communities.

Career

Winter has worked in RCT for Shelter Cymru and in

Penywaun Penywaun (also in ) is a community, electoral ward and north-western suburb of Aberdare in the Cynon Valley within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. At the 2011 census, the population of the ward was registered as 3,063. Etymology ...

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 The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff. UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...

. On entering Parliament following the 2019 general election, Winter was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to

Rachel Reeves Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds West and Pudsey, formerly Leed ...

Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a position in the British Shadow Cabinet, appointed by the leader of the Opposition. The post involves holding to account the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who has control over the esta ...

. 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 Nadia Edith Whittome (, born 29 August 1996) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham East since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she was previously the youngest MP upon her election at the age of 23. She ...

and Olivia Blake. In February 2022, following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Winter was one of 11 Labour MPs who signed a statement by the

Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts. It was established on 21 September 2001 to campaign against the impe ...

which questioned the legitimacy of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures after the Labour party threatened them with withdrawal of the party

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. In May 2023, she called the

selection of

prospective parliamentary candidate In British politics, a prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) is a candidate selected by political parties to contest under individual Westminster constituencies in advance of a general election. The term originally came into use because of ...

s for the 2024 general election "undemocratic". On 7 June 2023, Winter was defeated by

Gerald Jones Gerald Jones (born 21 August 1970) is a Welsh Labour Party politician, serving as Assistant Government Whip who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare, previously Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney since 2015. He wa ...

for her party's selection to become the Labour candidate for the new parliamentary seat of Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon, which was contested at the 2024 general election. The seat was ultimately renamed Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare in the final recommendations published late in June, which also abolishes her existing seat. In November 2024, Winter resigned from the Labour Party. In her statement she said "I cannot in all conscience remain in a political party that is pursuing an authoritarian political agenda whose primary objective is to retain the

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

status quo, serve corporate interests and protect the ruling class.

Political positions

She has described herself as a "proud socialist." She has supported

Cymdeithas yr Iaith The Welsh Language Society (, also often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas in English) is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every aspect of their l ...

's campaign to introduce a Property Act, and has supported devolution of the Crown Estate to the

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

. She has opposed construction of the

AUKUS AUKUS ( ), also styled as Aukus, is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States intended to "promote a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable." Initially announced on 15 September ...

Deep Space Advanced Radar Concept (DARC) at Cawdor Barracks in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

and is an official supporter of the campaign PARC Against DARC which founded in 2024 to stop it. In June 2024, although not specifically endorsing

Welsh independence Welsh independence () is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the killing of Llywelyn the ...

she spoke in a rally in Carmarthen that was in favour of Welsh independence.

Personal life

Winter has three children. Three generations of her family participated in the

September 2019 climate strikes The September 2019 climate strikes, also known as the Global Week for Future, were a series of international strike (action), strikes and protests to demand Action on climate change, action be taken to address global warming, climate change, wh ...

at the

Senedd building The Senedd building (), in Cardiff, houses the debating chamber and three committee rooms of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ; formerly the National Assembly for Wales). The Senedd building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 1 March 2006, Saint ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, Beth Living people 1974 births 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of Swansea University Alumni of the University of Bristol Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies People from Cynon Valley Welsh Labour MPs Welsh socialists Welsh-speaking politicians UK MPs 2019–2024 Socialist Campaign Group