12 Facts About Hywel Williams

Hywel Williams was born on 1953 and is a Welsh Plaid Cymru politician serving as the Member of Parliament for Arfon, previously Caernarfon, since 2001.

Hywel Williams was a mental health social worker in the Dwyfor area before joining the Centre for Social Work Practice at the University of Wales, Bangor in 1985.

Hywel Williams was a project worker at the centre, specialising in developing practice through the medium of Welsh, developing a host of short courses available in Welsh for the first time, as well as producing and editing numerous books and training packages with his colleagues, including the first ever social work vocabulary in Welsh.

Hywel Williams was appointed Head of the Centre in 1993.

In 1995, Hywel Williams left to work as a freelance lecturer, consultant and writer in the fields of social policy, social work, and social care, working primarily through the medium of Welsh.

Hywel Williams has been a member of numerous professional bodies in relation to social work and training, and was spokesman for the Child Poverty Action Group in Wales.

Hywel Williams was elected to represent the Caernarfon constituency in the 2001 general election, following Dafydd Wigley's retirement, and again in 2005, with a significantly increased majority.

Hywel Williams was re-elected as Plaid Cymru MP for the Arfon constituency in May 2015 with an increased majority.

Hywel Williams was a member of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee between 2004 and 2010 and joined the Science and Technology Select Committee and the House Works of Art Committee in 2012.

Hywel Williams served as leader of Plaid Cymru in Westminster from September 2015 until June 2017.

Hywel Williams' majority was cut to just 92 votes at the 2017 election, with Labour's Mary Clarke coming close to unseating him, but at the 2019 General Election increased his majority to 2,781 In March 2019, he voted for an amendment tabled by members of The Independent Group calling for a second public vote on EU membership.

In November 2022, Hywel Williams announced that he would step down as an MP at the next general election.