- Simon Thomas (politician)
Simon Thomas (born
28 December 1963 ) is a Welsh politician. He wasPlaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Ceredigion between2000 and2005 , which he initially won after a by-election caused by the resignation of Plaid Cymru MPCynog Dafis .Early life
He went to
Aberdare Boys' Grammar School (becameAberdare Boys' Comprehensive School in 1978) on "Cwmdare Road" inTrecynon nearAberdare . At the University of College Wales, Aberystwyth, he gained a BA in Welsh in 1985. He gained aPostgraduate diploma from the College of Librarianship Wales (CLW) inLlanbadarn Fawr ,Aberystwyth in 1988 (College became part of the university in 1989).He was assistant curator for the
National Library of Wales from 1986-92. From 1992-4, he was Policy and Research Officer for theTaff-Ely borough council. From 1994-2000, he was Rural Development Manager for the JIGSO rural development agency.Parliamentary career
He retained the seat at the 2001 election with a reduced majority, and lost it in the 2005 general election to Mark Williams of the Liberal Democrats.
During the 2005 general election Simon Thomas wrote a blog [http://www.channel4.com/simonthomas] which shows a near daily account of his campaign trail and his thoughts following his defeat.
Simon Thomas lives in
Aberystwyth , and has been placed 4th by his party in the National Assembly elections in South Wales Central in 2007, giving him no realistic chance of being elected. However when the regional lists were published for the Assembly Elections in May 2007, Simon Thomas was notable by his absence in the South Wales Central regional list. The candidates nominated were: 1. Leanne Wood, 2. Chris Franks, 3. Gwenllian Lansdown and 4. Mohammed Sarul Islam.Following that election, Simon Thomas was appointed a special adviser to the Plaid Cymru ministers in the Welsh Assembly Government coalition between his party and Labour.
Personal life
He is married to Gwen. They have a son and a daughter.
External links
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-6965,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Simon Thomas]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/simon_thomas/ceredigion TheyWorkForYou.com - Simon Thomas]
* [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Simon_Thomas&mpc=Ceredigion The Public Whip - Simon Thomas]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/543.stm BBC News - Simon Thomas] profile 10 February, 2005
* [http://www.channel4.com/simonthomas Channel 4, 2005 Election Blog]
* [http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/newspolitics/tm_objectid=17078212%26method=full%26siteid=50082%26headline=ex%2dplaid%2dmp%2dfails%2din%2dassembly%2dcomeback-name_page.html Ex-Plaid MP fails in Assembly comeback]Offices Held
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