Meet some new members of the Welsh assembly
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-wales-politics-13563166 Version 0 of 1. The latest election returned 23 new members of the Welsh assembly. More than a third of AMs are first-timers, partly because so many seats changed hands and partly because so many members of the last assembly retired. They have been swearing oaths, finding their way around Cardiff Bay and starting case work from their constituents. We asked some of them to introduce themselves. <h2 class="section-header" id="heading-1">William Powell (Welsh Liberal Democrats, Mid and West Wales)</h2>Why stand for the assembly? To be a strong liberal voice for Mid and West Wales, including the old Liberal heartlands in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire Most frustrating thing about your first week as an AM? Negotiating the maze of corridors in the assembly buildings - no prizes for my orienteering so far What's your poison? Whipping Tree Ale, best-selling ale from the Rotter's micro-brewery in Talgarth First record you bought? Max Boyce - Live at Treorchy Last book you read? Things Can Only Get Better by John O'Farrell - a poignant reminder that all politics is cyclical Earliest political memory? Bloody Sunday. I was a child at the time and found the violence really difficult to understand Which current politician do you most admire and why? 1. Sergei Mitrokhin, leader of Yabloko, the Russian Liberal Democrat Party, for standing up for human rights and liberal values despite harassment and detention in his home country 2. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner who was held under house arrest for about 15 years but never gave up. Her dignity is an inspiration to us all Rugby or football? Do I have to choose? I enjoy both but was brought up on football. My favourite football quotes are, "I didn't make the first team, I just made the first team laugh" (Billy Bragg) and "You're only as good as your last game" (Sir Matt Busby) Beatles or Rolling Stones? Neither - The Cure Hero from Welsh history? Obviously it's David Lloyd George <h3 class="section-header" id="heading-1-1">Ken Skates (Labour, Clwyd South)</h3>Why stand for the assembly? To make the area I live a better place Most frustrating thing about your first week as an AM? Navigating Ty Hywel What's your poison? Sierra Nevada pale ale First record you bought? T'Pau - China In Your Hand Last book you read? You Only Live Twice Earliest political memory? 1983 election, my oldest brother John explaining to me why he was voting Labour as we sat outside the polling station in his Mini Which current politician do you most admire and why? Bill Clinton. He's a survivor, a moderniser and a world statesman who has never ceased fighting for social justice Rugby or football? Football, but golf and athletics before either of them Beatles or Rolling Stones? Rolling Stones (I'm with James Bond on the Beatles: "… as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs") Hero from Welsh history? Sir Clough William-Ellis, the world's first imagineer <h3 class="section-header" id="heading-1-2">Byron Davies (Conservative, South Wales West)</h3>Why stand for the assembly? A sense of public duty, having served as a police officer for 32 years Most frustrating thing about your first week as an AM? No great frustrations apart from orientating myself within the assembly corridors What's your poison? Brains Bitter First record you bought? The Animals - House of the Rising Sun Last book you read? Downing Street Years, Margaret Thatcher. Earliest political memory? Grosvenor Square riots regarding Vietnam war Which current politician do you most admire and why? William Hague because of his integrity Rugby or football? Rugby Beatles or Rolling Stones? Beatles Hero from Welsh history? Carwyn James |