Hywel Williams
Plaid Cymru Former MP · left 30 May 2024
Represented Arfon · in Parliament since 7 June 2001
Parliamentary participation snapshot
Voting participation
72.5%
774 of 1,068 divisions
Committee attendance
100.0%
3 meetings attended
Debate contributions
346
in the 7 year window
Written questions
574
in the 7 year window
Committee memberships
0
current
Biography
Hywel Williams is no longer a Member, but was most recently the Plaid Cymru MP for Arfon, and left the Commons on 30 May 2024.
Parliamentary service
| Constituency | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arfon | 6 May 2010 | 30 May 2024 | Elected 4 times |
| Caernarfon | 7 June 2001 | 6 May 2010 | Elected 2 times |
Party affiliations
| Party | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Plaid Cymru | 7 June 2001 | 30 May 2024 |
Previous ministerial & opposition roles
| Role | Type | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow PC Chief Whip | Opposition | 21 July 2020 | 30 May 2024 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Defence) | Opposition | 21 July 2020 | 30 May 2024 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Foreign Affairs) | Opposition | 21 July 2020 | 30 May 2024 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Development) | Opposition | 21 July 2020 | 30 May 2024 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Brexit) | Opposition | 1 June 2017 | 21 July 2020 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Cabinet Office) | Opposition | 1 June 2017 | 30 May 2024 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Trade) | Opposition | 1 June 2017 | 30 May 2024 |
| Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader | Opposition | 12 October 2015 | 1 June 2017 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Culture, Media and Sport) | Opposition | 8 May 2015 | 1 June 2017 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Defence) | Opposition | 8 May 2015 | 1 June 2017 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Europe) | Opposition | 8 May 2015 | 1 June 2017 |
| Shadow Spokesperson (Cabinet Office) | Opposition | 18 June 2010 | 18 March 2013 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Education) | Opposition | 10 June 2005 | 30 March 2015 |
| Shadow Spokesperson (Culture, Media and Sport) | Opposition | 10 May 2005 | 10 May 2006 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Development) | Opposition | 10 May 2004 | 1 June 2017 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Health) | Opposition | 10 May 2001 | 30 March 2015 |
| Shadow PC Spokesperson (Work and Pensions) | Opposition | 10 May 2001 | 30 May 2024 |
Voting participation
Participation rate
72.5%
Eligible divisions
1,068
Divisions voted
774
353rd of 650 current MPs · all MPs average 71.4% · Plaid Cymru average 62.2%
Participation by year
| Year | Eligible divisions | Voted | Participation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 127 | 81 | 63.8% |
| 2023 | 256 | 194 | 75.8% |
| 2022 | 251 | 181 | 72.1% |
| 2021 | 242 | 173 | 71.5% |
| 2020 | 190 | 143 | 75.3% |
| 2019 | 2 | 2 | 100.0% |
By Parliament
| Parliament | Eligible divisions | Voted | Participation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 58th | 1,068 | 774 | 72.5% |
Participation counts aye, no or teller votes in Commons divisions held while the MP sat. Absence has many legitimate causes (pairing, illness, parental leave, ministerial or Speaker duties).
Parliamentary activity
Debate contributions
346
Written questions
574
Oral questions
19
Early day motions
47
Bills sponsored
1
Petitions presented
0
Committee meetings attended
3
160th of 650 current MPs · all MPs average 489 · Plaid Cymru average 647
Annual breakdown
| Year | Debate contributions | Debates participated | Written questions | Oral questions | EDMs | Bills sponsored | Petitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 39 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 82 | 58 | 111 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 99 | 52 | 114 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 83 | 60 | 147 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 43 | 38 | 181 | 5 | 22 | 1 | 0 |
Committee memberships
Not currently a member of any committee.
joint 1st of 515 current MPs (489 tied) · all MPs average 99.6% · Plaid Cymru average 100.0%
Committee membership history
- Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art 2010–2015, 2015–2017, 2017–2019, 2020–2021
- Welsh Grand Committee 2022–2024
4 bill committees served on
Hansard activity
Contributions
346
spoken contributions
Debates participated in
229
distinct debates
315th of 650 current MPs · all MPs average 552 · Plaid Cymru average 429
Counts come from the Hansard record for the Commons and Westminster Hall within the dataset window. Individual contributions and topic analysis are not yet part of the dataset; search Hansard for the full record.
Parliamentary timeline
Generated from seat, party, role and committee records.
2001
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Health)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)
- – Became MP for Caernarfon
- – Joined Plaid Cymru
2004
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Development)
2005
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow Spokesperson (Culture, Media and Sport)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Education)
2006
- – Left role: Shadow Spokesperson (Culture, Media and Sport)
2010
- – Became MP for Arfon
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
- – Joined Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art
2013
- – Left role: Shadow Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
2015
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Education)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Health)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Culture, Media and Sport)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Defence)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Europe)
- – Joined Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art
- – Appointed (opposition): Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader
2017
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Brexit)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Trade)
- – Left role: Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Culture, Media and Sport)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Defence)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Europe)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Development)
- – Joined Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art
2020
- – Became Chair of Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Chief Whip
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Defence)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (Foreign Affairs)
- – Appointed (opposition): Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Development)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Brexit)
2022
- – Joined Welsh Grand Committee
2024
- – Left role: Shadow PC Chief Whip
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Cabinet Office)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Defence)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Foreign Affairs)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Development)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (International Trade)
- – Left role: Shadow PC Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)
- – Left the House of Commons (Dissolution)
Statistics cover 7 November 2019 to 7 November 2026. Source: UK Parliament Members, Committees, Commons Votes, Hansard, Questions and Bills APIs, via the UK Politics Decoded dataset. View this MP’s raw JSON.