Ruth Jones

Ruth Jones joined the Labour Party in 1999, but did not run as a local or national candidate until 2015, when she stood for Labour in Monmouth. She lost this contest and experienced the same defeat again in 2017. Jones was elected as MP for Newport West in a by-election in April 2019. The by-election was triggered by the death of Paul Flynn, Newport West’s sitting MP for thirty-two years. Jones was endorsed by Flynn’s widow, Sam, who was present at the count when Jones’ victory was announced. In her victory speech, Jones highlighted her support for the NHS and attacked Conservative funding cuts, saying, “I’m calling on Theresa May to reverse her cuts and put more Bobbies on the Beat”. Newport West was a traditionally safe Labour seat, but Labour has seen their majority dropping since the rise of UKIP and the Brexit question. Jones voted remain in 2016 and supported a people’s vote, an interesting move considering Newport voted 56% to Leave. Jones has not aligned herself to a particular faction of the Labour party, she joined the party when Tony Blair was leader, but all of her election contests were under Corbyn’s leadership, when queried on where she places herself within the party, she said, “I plough my own furrow, I look at each policy and weigh it up and make my own decisions.”Since her entry to Westminster, Jones has sat on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee, and the Environmental Affairs Audit (2019). She is a member of the front benches, currently holding the position of Shadow Minister for Natural Environment and Air Quality.