Michael John Hedges MS (born 8 July 1956) is a

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 192 ...

politician, who been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for the constituency of Swansea East since the 2011 Senedd election.

Personal life

Hedges has lived in

Morriston Morriston (; cy, Treforys ) is a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes referred to as a distinct town (e.g. the local fo ...

for many years but was born in the

Plasmarl Plasmarl, or Plas-Marl, is a suburban district and historically a village of the City and County of Swansea, Wales. It falls within the old Copper Quarter of Landore electoral ward. Location Plasmarl is centered on the A4067 road, which con ...

area of Swansea. He is married to Anne and has a daughter, Catrin, who attends Ysgol Gyfun Bryntawe. He attended Plasmarl, Parklands and Penlan Schools, and went on to higher education at

Swansea University Swansea University ( cy, Prifysgol Abertawe) 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. ...

and Cardiff University. Active in local sport, Hedges has been a football referee and coach, and was secretary of Morriston town for several years. Hedges is president of Ynystawe Cricket and Football Club and is a social member of both Morriston RFC and Glais RFC.

Professional background

Originally a research scientist for

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

, Hedges has spent the last 27 years as a senior lecturer in

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 (). ...

, specialising in computing and information technology.

Political history

Hedges was elected to represent

on the

City and County of Swansea Council , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , logo_pic = Swansea City Council Logo.svg , logo_res = , logo_alt = , house_type = Unitary authority , jurisdiction = , foundation = 1 April 1996 , preceded_by = West Glamorgan County CouncilSw ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

. He was re-elected in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, 2004 and 2008. He was previously a member of West Glamorgan County Council from 1989. He held a number of senior posts on the Council, including Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance & Technical Services. He was also Vice-Chair of the Council's Scrutiny Committee and the

Welsh Local Government Association The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) ( cy, Cymdeithas Llywodraeth Leol Cymru) represents the interests of local authorities in Wales. It is an affiliated member of the Local Government Association of England and Wales and the regional em ...

spokesperson on both social services and information. Taking an active interest in education, Hedges has been a governor of

, Swansea Institute, Mynyddbach and Morriston Comprehensives, Swansea College. He is currently chair of the governors of Glyncollen Primary School and Ynystawe Primary School. Hedges was a non-executive director of Swansea NHS Trust between 1999 and 2005. His political interests include education, health, local government, sports provision and social deprivation.

Committee membership and cross party group membership

Hedges currently sits as a member on the Senedd's Finance Committee, Public Accounts Committee and Health and Social Care Committee. He is also Chair of the Cross Party Group on Older People & Ageing as well as a member of the Cross Party Groups on Autism, Beer & The Pub, Co-operatives & Mutuals, Cancer, Deaf Issues and PCS Union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Mike 1956 births Living people Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Wales AMs 2011–2016 Wales MSs 2021–2026 Welsh Labour councillors Leaders of local authorities of Wales