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Craig Williams (British politician)

(Redirected from Alun Craig Williams)

Alun Craig Williams[1] (born 7 June 1985)[2] is a British politician who has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister since October 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff North from 2015 to 2017, when he was defeated for reelection by Labour Party's Anna McMorrin.[3] In 2019, Williams was elected as the MP for Montgomeryshire.

The Right Honourable
Craig Williams
Official portrait, 2019
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
Assumed office
25 October 2022
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded bySuzanne Webb
Member of Parliament
for Montgomeryshire
In office
12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byGlyn Davies
Majority12,138 (35.5%)
Member of Parliament
for Cardiff North
In office
7 May 2015 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byJonathan Evans
Succeeded byAnna McMorrin
Personal details
Born (1985-06-07) 7 June 1985 (age 39)
Welshpool, Wales
Political partyConservative
SpouseClaire Williams
Children2
Websitecraig-williams.org.uk

On 12 June 2024, it became known that Williams had placed a £100 bet on the election being in July, three days before this was announced. The bet was referred to the Gambling Commission to determine whether Williams had placed the bet based on confidential information, which could constitute a criminal offence. Williams apologised for the bet, but neither he nor Sunak would answer whether he had inside information.[4]

Early life and education

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Williams was born in Welshpool, Powys, to David and Andrea Williams. He attended Gungrog Road school, Ysgol Maesydre and Welshpool High School.[5]

Parliamentary career

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Williams first stood for office in Cardiff West against the Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan in the 2007 National Assembly for Wales election.[5] Williams had represented Pentyrch ward on City of Cardiff Council from 2008, and unsuccessfully contested the 2012 Cardiff South and Penarth by-election, coming second to Labour's Stephen Doughty. Whilst on the council, he was Chairman of the Economy Committee from 2012 to 2015.[2] He was Director of Cardiff Bus from 2011 to 2015. In May 2015, he was elected Member of Parliament for the marginal seat of Cardiff North. In July 2015, Williams was elected as a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee,[6] a position which he held until October 2016.[7] Williams then served as a member of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee and the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.[7][8]

Williams was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 UK European Union membership referendum,[9] and consistently voted with the Government Whip.[10] He lost his seat at the June 2017 general election to Labour's Anna McMorrin.[11] Prior to the 2019 UK general election, Williams was a Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, Steve Barclay.[12] In July 2019, Williams was announced as the Conservative candidate for the constituency of Montgomeryshire for the next general election, where the sitting Conservative MP Glyn Davies was standing down.[13] In the general election held in December 2019, Williams won the seat with 59% of the vote, and consequently returned to Westminster. He increased the Conservative majority in Montgomeryshire to over 12,000 votes.[14]

Williams was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to his former boss, Steve Barclay, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.[15] Since becoming an MP in 2019, he has also joined the International Trade Select Committee and European Statutory Instruments Committee.[16][17] In addition, he chairs the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Wales in the World and International Trade and Investment.[18] In 2022, Williams resigned from his position as Parliamentary Private Secretary, losing confidence in the Prime Minister.[19] It was alleged that Williams was napping on the parliamentary benches in November 2020, and a social media clip suggested that he was not paying attention, or even sleeping.[20] Williams claimed this was due to a partial deafness in one ear, which he confirmed during a speech on the British Sign Language Bill.[21][20]

Williams was sworn in as a Privy Counsellor in November 2023, entitling him to the style The Right Honourable for life.[22]

On 12 June 2024, it became known that Williams had placed a £100 bet on the election being in July, three days before this was announced. The bet was referred to the Gambling Commission to determine whether Williams had placed the bet based on confidential information, which could constitute a criminal offence.[23] Williams apologised for the bet, but neither he nor Sunak would answer whether he had inside information.[24][25] The Gambling Commission wrote to Sunak about Williams.[26] Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Williams's bet on the election was "very foolish".[27][28]

Personal life

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Williams married Clare Bath in 2013 with whom he has a son and a daughter. He is a member of the Carlton Club as well as the Cardiff and County Club.[2] Williams is a school governor at a primary school.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9127.
  2. ^ a b c d "Williams, (Alun) Craig, (born 7 June 1985), MP (C) Montgomeryshire, since 2019". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u283848. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Cardiff North parliamentary constituency – Election 2015". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. ^ Martin, Daniel (13 June 2024). "Sunak refuses to say whether aide who bet on election date knew it would be in July". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Craig Williams named as the man to replace Glyn Davies". mynewtown. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Work and Pensions Committee – membership". UK Parliament. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Craig Williams MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Welsh Affairs Committee – membership". Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  9. ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Craig Williams MP, Cardiff North – TheyWorkForYou". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Cardiff North parliamentary constituency – Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  12. ^ Robertson, Dominic. "Brexit: Former MP takes on key role as advisor". www.shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  13. ^ Austin, Sue. "Tories choose next prospective parliamentary candidate for Montgomeryshire". www.shropshirestar.com.
  14. ^ "General election 2019: Tories re-take Brecon and Radnorshire". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  15. ^ "PARLIAMENTARY PRIVATE SECRETARIES – APRIL 2020" (PDF). gov.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  16. ^ "International Trade Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  17. ^ "European Statutory Instruments Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Register of All-Party Parliamentary Groups". www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams resigns from UK Government with 'deep regret'". Nation.Cymru. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  20. ^ a b Jones, Matt (3 November 2020). "MP Craig Williams laughs off House of Commons sleeping claim". Powys County Times. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  21. ^ Parliamentary Hansard (18 March 2022). "British Sign Language Bill". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Orders Approved and Business Transacted at the Privy Council, held by the King at Buckingham Palace on 15th November 2023" (PDF). 15 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  23. ^ Crerar, Pippa. "Rishi Sunak aide placed bet on election date days before announcement". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  24. ^ BBC News at Ten, BBC1, 13 June 2024
  25. ^ Martin, Daniel. "Sunak refuses to say whether aide who bet on election date knew it would be in July". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  26. ^ Riley-Smith, Ben. "Sunak receives letter from Gambling Commission over aide who placed bet on July election". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  27. ^ Weaver, Matthew (13 June 2024). "David Cameron says Rishi Sunak aide's bet on election date was 'very foolish'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Lord Cameron side-steps questions on Sunak's D-Day exit". BBC News. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Craig Williams (politician).
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Cardiff North
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Montgomeryshire
2019–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
2022–present 		Incumbent
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