Carolyn Thomas

Carolyn Thomas
MS
Thomas in 2021
Member of the Senedd
for North Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 May 2021
Personal details
Born (1965-11-03) 3 November 1965 (age 59)
Cheshire, England
Political partyLabour and Co-operative (Since 2015)
OccupationPostal worker
WebsiteOfficial website

Carolyn Thomas (born 1965) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician who has been a Member of the Senedd (MS) for North Wales since the 2021 Senedd election.

Early career and election

Before being elected to the Senedd, Thomas worked as a postal worker until 2020 and was a member of the Communication Workers Union (CWU). In 2008, she was elected to Flintshire County Council as an independent representing Treuddyn before joining Labour in 2015.[1] In 2019, Thomas became Deputy Leader of the council.[2][3][4]

Whilst Deputy Leader, Thomas delivered a petition to the Senedd, calling for buses to be run 'for people, not profit'. The petition asked the Welsh Government to regulate commercial bus companies and allow local authorities to run their own bus services.[5]

Thomas was selected to lead the North Wales regional list for Labour in the 2021 Senedd election and was elected as Labour's first ever Member of the Senedd for the North Wales region.[6]

Parliamentary career

In February 2022, Thomas was one of three Labour MSs to support introducing rent controls in Wales.[7] Thomas is a supporter of public ownership. In August 2022, she called for energy companies to be nationalised in response to increased bills.[8]

Since being elected, Thomas has spoken of her experience of working as a postal worker in the Royal Mail following its privatisation in 2013. She has called for Royal Mail to be returned to public ownership, saying that privatisation had 'wrecked' the business because of an 'unhinged profit-obsessed mantra'.[9]

Amidst the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Thomas supported an opposition motion from Plaid Cymru calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, triggering a debate and vote in the Senedd, which subsequently backed calls for a ceasefire.[10]

Thomas has been an outspoken critic of carbon capture and storage, and opposed plans for an underground carbon capture pipeline being built through North Wales, describing it as an 'exhaust pipe' which will 'serve to entrench fossil fuel reliance'.[11][12]

Personal life

Thomas is married and has three children.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Flintshire councillor defects to Labour after politically 'maturing'". Daily Post. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Councillor details - Cllr Carolyn Thomas". Flintshire County Council. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  3. ^ Randall, Liam (4 August 2020). "Flintshire: Deputy leader of Flintshire Council aiming to become Labour's lead regional list candidate for next year's Senedd elections". Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Why Vote for Me?". www.carolynthomas.wales. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021. Up to last year I was ... a part time post woman
  5. ^ "Deputy council leader handing in 3500 signature petition calling for local authorities to be given greater control over bus services". Deeside.com. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  6. ^ Nuttall, Andrew (8 May 2021). "Labour, Conservative and Plaid Cymru claim regional MS spots for North Wales". North Wales Pioneer. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  7. ^ Wilks, Rebecca (10 February 2022). "Rent controls: Welsh Senedd members react to snub". The National. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  8. ^ Wilks, Rebecca (5 August 2022). "Carolyn Thomas MS calls for energy firms to be nationalised over soaring bills". The National. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  9. ^ Thomas, Carolyn (26 October 2022). "As a former postal worker, the privatised wrecking of Royal Mail breaks my heart". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  10. ^ Mosalski, Ruth (8 November 2023). "Welsh Parliament calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza as Labour members go against party line". Wales Online. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Labour politician attacks Wales 'exhaust pipe' plan". BBC News. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  12. ^ Thomas, Carolyn (5 January 2024). "Carbon Capture in North Wales – An Expensive White Elephant?". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  13. ^ Mosalski, Ruth (8 May 2021). "These are the 18 new Members of the Senedd in Wales". WalesOnline. Retrieved 11 May 2021.