Jonathan Owen Jones (born 19 April 1954) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

politician. He was the Labour and

Co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Cardiff Central from 1992 to 2005. He was then an unsuccessful candidate for Change UK in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

at the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peop ...

Early life

Jon Owen Jones was born in Maerdy. He attended the

Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen Ysgol Garth Olwg (previously named Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen and Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg), English Garth Olwg School is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school in the village of Church Village near Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon T ...

school on Glyndwr Avenue in

Rhydyfelin Rhydyfelin (, ''Mill Ford'') is a large village (originally known as Rhydfelen) and part of the community of Pontypridd Town, about two miles to its south east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf. It is on the eastern ban ...

(it moved to Main Road in

Church Village Church Village ( cy, Pentre'r Eglwys) is a large village in the historic parish and community of Llantwit Fardre, located within the Taff Ely district of the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales. The village is centrally located being ...

in 2006),

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

. He studied at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

, gaining a BSc in Ecology in 1975. In 1976 he went to University College of Wales, Cardiff, gaining a PGCE. Jones was a teacher before entering Parliament, teaching biology and science in comprehensive schools from 1977 to 1992. He was president of Caerphilly NUT in 1983, then Mid Glamorgan NUT in 1984. He was a councillor for the Adamsdown ward on

Cardiff City Council Cardiff City Council was the local government district authority that administered the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, from 1974 until 1996. The district council replaced the pre-1974 county borough council. It was succeeded in 1996 by Car ...

from 1987 to 1992.

Parliamentary career

Jones was the Labour and Co-operative MP for the Cardiff Central constituency from 1992 to 2005. He was a

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

from 1993 to 1998, then a junior minister at the

Welsh Office The Welsh Office ( cy, Swyddfa Gymreig) was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State f ...

until 1999. He won his seat again in 2001 with a majority of 659. He lost his seat at the 2005 general election to Jenny Willott of the Liberal Democrats. As part of the investigation into

United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expenses claims made by members of the British Parliament in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the previous ye ...

, Jones was found to have over claimed £513.10.

Post-parliament

He chaired the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also resp ...

's National Committee for Wales until April 2013, when its duties were subsumed by

Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Coun ...

, with Jones snubbed from the NRW board by Welsh Labour Environment Minister John Griffiths. In April 2019, It was announced that he would be the lead candidate for Change UK in

in the 2019 European Elections. He was not elected.

References

External links

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Offices Held

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Jon Owen 1954 births Alumni of the University of East Anglia Alumni of Cardiff University Councillors in Cardiff Living people Labour Co-operative MPs for Welsh constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cardiff constituencies UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 People from Pontypridd People educated at Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg Welsh Labour councillors Change UK politicians