Welsh Liberal blogs

Welsh Liberal Democrat MS Kirsty Williams has announced after careful consideration that she will stand down at next year’s Senedd election. Kirsty has served as the member for Brecon and Radnorshire since 1999, served as Chair of the Health Committee in the first Assembly from 1999-2003, as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 2008 until 2016 and has been the Welsh Government’s Education Minister since her appointment in 2016. Commenting Kirsty said: “After a great deal of thought and reflection, I have decided not to stand as a candidate at the next Senedd election. “There is, of course, sadness in making this decision, but also with a sense of achievement and pride. “I am looking forward to spending more time with my family and I remain committed to my role in Brecon and Radnorshire and look forward to continuing to campaign with my successor to ensure Brecon and Radnorshire returns a Welsh Liberal Democrat voice.” Paula Yates, President of the Welsh Liberal Democr

  Content warning: Suicide. Justin Fashanu began his career as an apprentice with Norwich City, having impressed as part of their academy, and signed his first professional contract in December 1978 aged just 17. Fashanu became the first black footballer to command a £1 million transfer fee when he made the move from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest in 1981. Fashanu became the first openly gay professional footballer when he made a public announcement in the Sun newspaper in October 1990. He stated that his fellow players generally accepted him well following his announcement, but he was nonetheless aware of malicious jokes made about his sexual orientation, and came to be a target of constant crowd abuse because of it. After moving to the US in 1998 he was questioned by police when a 17-year-old boy accused him of sexual assault. Fashanu fled to England where he tragically took his own life in May 1998. According to the note he left, he feared he would not get a fair trial be

  Eligible pupils are guaranteed free school meal provision for all school holidays up to and including Easter 2021, thanks to £11m confirmed today Liberal Democrat Education Minister Kirsty Williams.   Making the announcement ahead of the October half term  through a video released on her Twitter channel , the Minister said she hoped the confirmation would provide ‘some reassurance in these times of uncertainty’. The Minister also confirmed that more than £700k had also been allocated to support colleges with the equivalent provision for eligible learners.   When Kirsty announced she would close schools on Wednesday, March 18 she quickly confirmed that  £7 million would be made available  to local authorities to put in place measures to ensure that children eligible for free school meals would continue to benefit from this scheme. Then on April 22 Wales became  the first country in the UK to guarantee ongoing funding for children  to continue to benefit from free school meal provision