Elizabeth "Buffy" Williams (born 1 November 1976) is a Welsh politician who is the Labour Member of 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 ...

for

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

. She won the seat from former

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

leader Leanne Wood in the

2021 Senedd election The 2021 Senedd election took place on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect 60 members to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). It was the sixth Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved general election since the Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for ...

Early life and career

Williams was born and brought up in the

community of Williamstown, 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. Williams is the manager of a community centre, 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 the Royal Glamorgan Hospital from a closure proposed by her own party, and helping in response to the floods caused by

Storm Dennis Storm Dennis was a European windstorm which, in February 2020, became one of the most intense extratropical cyclones ever recorded, reaching a minimum central pressure of . The thirteenth named storm of the 2019–20 European windstorm season, ...

. In March 2021, the Labour Party was criticised for nominating Williams for a Welsh Government award, the

St David Awards The Saint David Awards (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Gwobrau Dewi Sant'') are an annual government awards scheme which recognizes exceptional achievements by Welsh people, Welsh citizens within Wales, the UK and globally. They are the highest accola ...

, after she had been selected as a candidate for the Senedd elections. The

Welsh Conservatives The Welsh Conservatives (), also known as the Welsh Conservative Party (), is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At United Kingdom general elections, Westminster elections, it is ...

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." Williams won the Rhondda constituency seat on 6 May 2021 from the former Plaid Cymru leader, Leanne Wood, with a majority of 5,497. In February 2025 during a trial at

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

, it emerged that a member of staff from Williams’ office had made a complaint to the Police that resulted in a former

Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

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 the 2024 Southport stabbings, in which he stated "we are under attack" from illegal migrants. He referred to "psychopaths" and "scumbags", whom his lawyer said was only a reference to criminal migrants. He was acquitted unanimously in under an hour. In the aftermath, Williams received significant online abuse, largely from

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

groups.

Personal life

She is married with three children and lives in Pentre, the Rhondda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Buffy 1976 births Living people Female members of the Senedd People from Rhondda Cynon Taf Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Wales MSs 2021–2026