Elizabeth Joyce Watson (born 1955) 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 has been a

Member of the Senedd A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd c ...

(MS) for Mid and West Wales since

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Career

Watson was educated at Manorbier School, Cosheston School and Cardigan Comprehensive before going on to

Pembrokeshire College Pembrokeshire College is a further education college with a campus in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England ...

in 1990. In 1993, she studied

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

Swansea University , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

, later gaining an honours degree at the same time as running Labour's successful parliamentary campaign for

Preseli Pembrokeshire Preseli Pembrokeshire (, ; cy, Preseli Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed in West Wales from 1974 to 1996. Until 1987 the name of the district was Preseli. The district took its name from the Preseli Hills. Creation Th ...

. An active Labour Party member, Watson was elected to

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Penfro) is the governing body for Pembrokeshire, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. Political control The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authori ...

at the inaugural elections in

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 strike ...

, capturing a seat in

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the count ...

from the Independents. She retained her seat 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 s ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. She was leader of the Labour group on Pembrokeshire Council for six years. Watson was elected as an Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales in May 2007. and re-elected in 2011 and 2016. She is currently a member of the Assembly Commission, the corporate body for the National Assembly for Wales, with responsibility for equalities and Assembly staff. She sits on the Assembly's Equality, Local Government & Communities committee and chairs the Cross-Party Groups on Construction and Human Trafficking. In 2016 she was elected chair of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) British Islands & Mediterranean region, having previously chaired the Wales branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). She has represented Wales on the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) and the Council of Europe's Congress of Local & Regional Authorities. She is involved in a number of high-profile campaigns. She champions the White Ribbon cause, enlisting support to End Violence against Women. In 2010 she wrote ''Bordering on Concern'', a report on Human Trafficking in Wales. Following its publication, the Welsh Government appointed the UK's first anti-Trafficking commissioner. In 2009 she launched the Women in Construction network; she continues to work with employers and trade bodies to get more young people and women into the construction industry.

Personal life

She is married to Colin and has three children, Heather, Fiona and William. and has run several businesses – public houses, restaurants and retail outlets in

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. C ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known ...

and Pembrokeshire. Watson's father was a prisoner of war during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and upon his return to the UK he was suspected of being a German spy. This was because he spoke

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 ...

as a first language and very little

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

but had learnt some

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

while overseas. Following his ordeal he brought up his children only speaking English. Watson is now learning Welsh, and her children were all educated in Welsh medium schools.

References

External links

Joyce Watson AM WebsiteWelsh Labour Party WebsiteWebsite of the Welsh Assembly Government

Member's page on the website of the National Assembly for Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Joyce 1955 births Living people Councillors in Wales Welsh Labour members of the Senedd Wales AMs 2007–2011 Wales AMs 2011–2016 Wales MSs 2021–2026 Alumni of Swansea University Female members of the Senedd Women councillors in Wales