Politics

Former UKIP Senedd leader Caroline Jones dies days after election bid

Published

1 month ago

May 14, 2026

Rieve Nesbitt-Marr

Tributes paid after politician falls ill with sepsis following vote count

FORMER UKIP leader in the Welsh Parliament Caroline Jones has died just days after standing in the Senedd election.

Ms Jones, 71, became seriously ill with severe sepsis on the night of the election count on May 8, after attending the results at Barry Leisure Centre earlier that day.

She was taken to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, where she died in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Her husband, Alun Williams, told BBC Wales she was a “fantastic woman” who was widely liked and respected across the Senedd.

“She couldn’t do enough for other people,” he said.

Ms Jones served as a Member of the Senedd for South Wales West from May 2016 to May 2021, and had been hoping to return to the Senedd as an independent candidate for the Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg constituency.

She had initially been announced as a Reform UK candidate in another constituency but left the party in April, claiming it had ignored grassroots members.

Mr Williams, who works in the Senedd, said his wife’s illness last weekend had “come out of the blue”, despite having suffered pneumonia, sepsis and a hospital infection at Christmas.

He said she had been helping members of the public right up until the day before she was admitted to hospital, including assisting a homeless family who approached her late in the evening.

“She was helping people at 9pm the night before she went into hospital,” he said.

Mr Williams also recalled how she donated a salary increase to charity after becoming a Senedd commissioner – a role involved in overseeing the running of the Welsh Parliament.

“I’ve had people in the house at 1am asking Caroline for advice,” he said.

“It was like a calling for her, to help people.”

He added that Ms Jones was well respected among politicians from across the political spectrum.

“A lot of people from other parties all got on with her. People in the canteen were in tears when they found out she was in hospital again,” he said.

Ms Jones was born in Llwynypia Hospital in the Rhondda in 1955. She trained as a drama and PE teacher, later running cafés in Porthcawl and Bridgend.

She also spent more than seven years working as a prison officer at HMP Parc in Bridgend until 2005.

Ms Jones entered the Senedd in 2016 as one of the seven UKIP members elected to the then Welsh Assembly, making political history at the time.

During a period of infighting within UKIP, she became one of the party’s leaders in Cardiff Bay after successfully ousting former Conservative MP Neil Hamilton.

She later joined the Brexit Party and led the Independent Alliance for Reform until 2021, before becoming a volunteer regional manager for Reform.

Tributes have been paid following her death.

Llŷr Powell, Reform MS for Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni, said on X: “I have known Caroline Jones for over 15 years and I am shocked and saddened by today’s news. My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones at this difficult time.

“Gorffwys mewn hedd (rest in peace).”

Former Reform councillor Owain Clatworthy, now with Restore Britain, said Ms Jones had shown resilience through political and personal challenges.

“Caroline believed in the importance of democracy, free speech, and standing up for ordinary people,” he said.

Community

Pembrokeshire young people to benefit from new Youth Hub

Published

23 minutes ago

June 15, 2026

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE is among 20 areas in Wales set to benefit from a Youth Hub aimed at helping young people into work, training and education.

The UK Labour Government has confirmed that seven more Youth Hubs will open across Wales over the next two years, in addition to 13 areas already announced in the first year of the programme.

Pembrokeshire was included in the first round of areas allocated a hub, alongside Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Caerphilly, Newport, Wrexham and others.

The hubs are designed to bring together job centre services, careers advice, skills and training opportunities, mental health support, housing advice and links to local employers offering live jobs and apprenticeships.

The aim is to ensure that every young person in Wales is no more than one hour away from a Youth Hub by public transport.

Shav Taj MS, Welsh Labour spokesperson for Employment and Equalities, said local and tailored support was “invaluable” in helping young people take their first step onto the jobs ladder.

Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said the hubs would help young people get “that vital first job” by providing support, training opportunities and connections to employers.

The UK Government says the Youth Hubs form part of a wider £2.5bn programme to tackle youth unemployment, with more than 360 local areas across Great Britain expected to be covered over the next three years.

Exact local sites will be decided by delivery partners working with local authorities.

Charity

RSPCA backs under-16 social media ban over animal cruelty fears

Published

4 hours ago

June 15, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Charity says children are still being exposed to disturbing abuse videos online

THE RSPCA has welcomed plans to ban under-16s from accessing social media, warning that online platforms have become “poisoned” by images and videos glorifying animal cruelty.

The charity said the move could help protect children from disturbing content and reduce the risk of young people becoming desensitised to animal suffering.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that children under 16 in the UK will be barred from using social media platforms, in what the government says is a major step to protect young people online.

David Bowles OBE, the RSPCA’s Head of Public Affairs, said the charity supported measures aimed at shielding children from harmful material.

He said: “Social media channels have become poisoned by images and videos which glorify animal abuse, so the RSPCA welcomes moves that better protect children from this disturbing content.

“Our Animal Kindness Index highlights that 30% of people have witnessed animal cruelty online, and social media is by far the most likely place for them to stumble upon it.”

Mr Bowles said restrictions on animal cruelty content were included in the Online Safety Act three years ago, but young people were still being exposed to abuse material.

He added that the charity had seen cases where people copied cruelty they had viewed online.

The RSPCA said any ban must be backed by continued pressure on social media companies to remove content glorifying animal violence and to make it easier for users to report cruelty.

Mr Bowles said technology could still be used positively to connect young people with animals, including through the RSPCA’s Animal Futures game and its Summer of Kindness campaign, which encourages families to help animals in their local communities.

He said the proposed ban, alongside plans for a new natural history GCSE in England, could help create “a better world for every kind.”

News

Senedd parties criticised over refusal to sign women’s safety statement

Published

7 hours ago

June 15, 2026

Tom Sinclair

WELSH CONSERVATIVES have accused rival parties in the Senedd of failing to back women’s safety after no Labour, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrat or Green Member signed a statement calling for women’s single-sex spaces to be protected.

The Statement of Opinion, tabled by Conservative MS Natasha Asghar, follows renewed debate over the legal definition of sex and the provision of single-sex services.

The statement calls for the rights and safety of women and girls to be protected, and says practices which enable voyeurism, harassment or sexual assault in mixed-sex facilities should be strongly opposed.

It also urges the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to apply Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on single-sex spaces.

Ms Asghar said the refusal of other parties to sign the statement was telling.

She said: “This is about basic common sense. Women and girls deserve safe, single-sex spaces and practices that enable voyeurism or harassment in mixed-sex facilities should be opposed by everyone in this Senedd.

“Yet not one Plaid Cymru, Labour, Green or Liberal Democrat Member has been willing to say so.

“Silence speaks volumes. If you cannot bring yourself to support women’s safety and dignity, voters in Wales will draw their own conclusions about your priorities.”

The issue has become one of the most divisive in Welsh and UK politics, with women’s rights campaigners arguing that single-sex services are essential for safety, privacy and dignity.

However, LGBTQ+ campaigners have warned that public bodies must also ensure transgender people are treated lawfully and are not left without safe and practical access to services.

The Herald has asked Welsh Labour, Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Greens for comment.