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Beth Winter

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Beth Winter
Official portrait, 2020
Member of Parliament
for Cynon Valley
In office
12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byAnn Clwyd
Succeeded bySeat abolished
Personal details
BornBethan Winter
(1974-10-04) 4 October 1974 (age 51)
Political partyIndependent (since 2024)
Other political
affiliations		Labour (until 2024)
Socialist Campaign Group (2019–2024)
Alma materUniversity of Bristol (BSc) (MA)
Swansea University (PhD)
Websitewww.bethwinter.wales

Bethan Winter (born 4 October 1974) is a Welsh politician and former member of Welsh Labour, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Cynon Valley from 2019 to 2024.

Early life and education

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Bethan Winter[1] was born on 4 October 1974[2] and raised in Cynon Valley.[3] She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Social Policy and a Master of Arts in Housing Studies, both from the University of Bristol. She later became a researcher and received a PhD from Swansea University in disadvantage among older people in rural communities.[4]

Career

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Winter has worked in RCT for Shelter Cymru and in Penywaun as a community worker, and has also managed a youth club and worked in a food bank. She is an official for the University and College Union.[5]

On entering Parliament following the 2019 general election, Winter was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to Rachel Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. However, she resigned in September 2020, when she defied the Labour whip and voted against the Overseas Operations Bill alongside 18 other Labour MPs, including two other junior office holders, Nadia Whittome and Olivia Blake.[6]

In February 2022, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Winter was one of 11 Labour MPs who signed a statement by the Stop the War Coalition which questioned the legitimacy of NATO and accused the military alliance of "eastward expansion". All 11 MPs subsequently removed their signatures after the Labour party threatened them with withdrawal of the party whip.[7]

In May 2023, she called the Welsh Labour selection of prospective parliamentary candidates for the 2024 general election "undemocratic".[8] On 7 June 2023, Winter was defeated by Gerald Jones for her party's selection to become the Labour candidate for the new parliamentary seat of Merthyr Tydfil and Upper Cynon, which was contested at the 2024 general election.[9] The seat was ultimately renamed Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare in the final recommendations published late in June, which also abolished her existing seat.[10]

In November 2024, Winter resigned from the Labour Party. In her statement she said "I cannot in all conscience remain in a political party that is pursuing an authoritarian political agenda whose primary objective is to retain the neoliberal status quo, serve corporate interests and protect the ruling class."[11]

On 24 July 2025, Winter announced her support for the newly formed Your Party (UK), co-founded by left-wing former Labour Party MPs Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn, in a social media statement alongside Mark Serwotka, former General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union.[12] By July, Winter was described by Nation.Cymru as playing a "key role" in Your Party, being one of three directors of MoU Operations, the entity responsible for handling the data and finances of Your Party, alongside Jamie Driscoll and Andrew Feinstein.[13] Winter and Serwotka "fronted" Your Party in Wales, organising a "mapping exercise", working to establish local branches, and announcing an all-Wales meeting for 25 October 2025 to discuss how Your Party would promote Welsh self-determination and its future political strategy in Wales. This included considering whether to run in the upcoming 2026 Senedd election.[14] Following a public split[15] in Your Party between co-founders Sultana and Corbyn on 18 September, Winter released a statement on social media stating she and Serwotka were "shocked and appalled by the communications coming out of Your Party", promising to continue moving forward with regional organising in Wales.[16]

In October 2025, it was reported that Your Party had launched legal action against the three directors of the MoU, including Winter, after a 'final deadline' to hand over the money accrued by membership fees from Zarah Sultana's aborted membership portal had passed without control being transferred. The MoU, holding around £800,000 worth of membership fees, was originally reported to be the designated body for managing the party's money and data until it was formally registered, at which point it would be handed over to the 'formalised' party. However, despite its registration on 30 September, The Guardian reported that the handover had not occurred. In a statement to the Guardian, Driscoll, Winter and Feinstein said: “These allegations are factually incorrect and frankly nonsense. We will make a full statement when we have time, but none of us are paid politicians with press officers.”[17]

On 25 October 2025, Winter and Serwotka led a 250-member 'All-Wales Gathering' of Your Party in Merthyr Tydfil, though the attendees were gathered through Your Party's informal proto-branches as the party's Welsh branch had not yet been handed the over membership data.[18]

Political positions

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She has described herself as a "proud socialist".[19]

She has supported Cymdeithas yr Iaith's campaign to introduce a Property Act,[20] and has supported devolution of the Crown Estate to the Senedd.[21] She has opposed construction of the AUKUS Deep Space Advanced Radar Concept (DARC) at Cawdor Barracks in Pembrokeshire and is an official supporter of the campaign PARC Against DARC which was founded in 2024 to stop it.[22][23]

In June 2024, although not specifically endorsing Welsh independence she spoke in a rally in Carmarthen that was in favour of Welsh independence.[24]

Personal life

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Winter has three children. Three generations of her family participated in the September 2019 climate strikes at the Senedd building.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Members Sworn". Hansard.parliament.uk. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019: the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  3. ^ Bond, Daniel (16 December 2019). "Class of 2019: Meet the new MPs". Politics Home: The House. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Ms Bethan Winter". Swansea University. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b Mosalski, Ruth (13 December 2019). "General Election 2019 result for Cynon Valley: The new MP and the constituency vote totals". Wales Online. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  6. ^ Sabbagh, Dan; Stewart, Heather (23 September 2020). "Three Labour MPs lose roles after voting against overseas operations bill". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  7. ^ Wearmouth, Rachel (24 February 2022). "11 Labour MPs threatened with suspension for signing Stop The War letter attacking NATO". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  8. ^ Neame, Katie (15 May 2023). "Left-wing MP: Rules for selection race against frontbencher "undemocratic"". LabourList. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Welsh Labour: Frontbench MP beats left-winger in seat battle". BBC News. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  10. ^ 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies – The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales (PDF). Boundary Commission for Wales. 28 June 2023.
  11. ^ Shipton, Martin (4 November 2024). "Former Cynon Valley MP Beth Winter quits Labour". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  12. ^ Mansfield, Mark (24 July 2025). "Beth Winter and Mark Serwotka back new left wing party fronted by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  13. ^ Mansfield, Mark (28 July 2025). "Former MP Beth Winter playing key role in Corbyn's new party". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  14. ^ Mansfield, Mark (2 September 2025). "Corbyn Party may decide in October whether to run candidates in the Senedd election". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  15. ^ Adu, Aletha (18 September 2025). "Corbyn clashes with Sultana over membership portal as split emerges in new party". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  16. ^ Winter, Beth (18 September 2025). "Please see below a statement update from myself and Mark Serwotka regarding Your Party 👇". X. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  17. ^ Adu, Aletha (28 October 2025). "Your Party to launch legal action against three of its 'rogue' founders, sources say". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 October 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ Best, Mark (29 October 2025). "Your Party – first all-Wales gathering meets". Socialist Party. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  19. ^ "Former Labour MP gives passionate speech at Carmarthen independence march". Nation.Cymru. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Beth Winter MP and Mabon ap Gwynfor MS to join "Property Act – Nothing Less" demand during International Workers' Day rally". Nation.Cymru. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  21. ^ Price, Stephen (20 January 2024). "Campaign to devolve the Crown Estate to Wales launched". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Pembrokeshire Against DARC Radar". parcagainstdarc.com. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  23. ^ "Campaign launched to oppose US Military plans to create radar station in Wales". Nation.Cymru. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  24. ^ Dowrick, Molly (23 June 2024). "Best pictures as thousands march through Welsh town in support of independence". Wales Online. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Cynon Valley
2019–2024 		Constituency abolished
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