Jeremy Miles

Jeremy Miles MS is the Welsh Labour and Co-operative Party politician who is the Member of the Senedd for Neath. He is a member of the Welsh Government where he is Counsel General for Wales, Brexit Minister and the Minister places in charge of coordinating Wales’ Coronavirus recovery.[1]

Jeremy Miles

MS
Jeremy Miles in 2016
Minister for European Transition
Assumed office
13 December 2018
First MinisterMark Drakeford
Preceded byMark Drakeford
Counsel General for Wales
Assumed office
16 November 2017
First MinisterCarwyn Jones
Mark Drakeford
Preceded byMick Antoniw
Member of the Senedd
for Neath
Assumed office
6 May 2016
Preceded byGwenda Thomas
Majority2,923 (11.5%)
Personal details
Political partyWelsh Labour and Co-operative
Alma materNew College, Oxford

Early life

He was born and brought up in Pontarddulais near Swansea, south Wales and as a native Welsh speaker, was educated at a bilingual comprehensive school - Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera in the Swansea Valley.[2] He graduated from New College, Oxford University, where he read law. After graduating, he taught law at the Centre for English Legal Studies, Warsaw University.[3]

He returned to the UK and practised as a solicitor in London initially, and then held senior legal and commercial posts in media sector businesses including ITV and with the US television network and film studio, NBC Universal, based in London.[4]

He stood unsuccessfully as the Labour candidate in the safe Conservative seat of Beaconsfield at the 2010 general election. Jeremy also stood in the Labour selection for Aberavon in 2014, losing the selection to Stephen Kinnock by one vote.[5]

After returning to live in South Wales, he set up his own business affairs consultancy working with international clients in the broadcast and digital sectors.[4]

Member of the Senedd for Neath

Following the announcement by Gwenda Thomas, the then-Assembly Member for Neath, that she was planning to stand down at the 2016 National Assembly for Wales election, he was selected to stand as the Labour and Co-operative candidate in Neath constituency in October 2015, following a twinned selection process with Gower constituency.[6]

He was until his selection as the candidate for Neath a trustee and secretary of the social justice charity the Bevan Foundation.[7]

He was elected to the Senedd Cymru in May 2016 and was one of the first out gay MSs elected.[8] In November 2017, he was nominated to be the Counsel General for Wales. Before his appointment to government, he sat on the Economy, Skills and Infrastructure committee, Culture, Welsh Language and Communications committee and the External Affairs committee and is the chair of the Co-operative group of AMs.[9]

Counsel General for Wales

In November 2017, First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones undertook a Welsh Government reshuffle.[10] Miles was nominated to the cabinet-level role of Counsel General.[11]

In March 2018, he introduced draft legislation that would create a codified statute book of Welsh law, which would make Wales the first of the home nations to organise its laws in this way. The statute book would be designed to improve accessibility to Welsh Law for both lawyers and the general population.[12]

In the news

In August 2016, he warned that public disillusionment with politics could threaten devolution in Wales.[13] He expanded in this in an essay for Western Mail where he warned "if we assume the only choice is between complacency and immediate disaster, then we will fail to learn the lessons of Brexit".[14]

In 2016 he entered the Pinc List: The 40 most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in Wales for the first time.[15] and was named again on the 2017 Pinc List.[16]

In March 2018, he wrote an article[17] for the Fabian Society in Wales, setting out challenges for the country and seeking to kick-start a debate on the future of Welsh Labour under a new leader.[18] Soon after, he nominated and endorsed Mark Drakeford in the election to succeed Carwyn Jones as Party leader and First Minister.[19]

In 2019, Jeremy led the Welsh Labour Government legislation to extend the franchise to 16 & 17 year olds for elections to the Senedd. This means, the 2021 Senedd elections were the first Welsh elections where 16 & 17 year olds could exercise their democratic voice.

In November 2020, Jeremy launched a ‘Trauma Awareness’ campaign which was implemented across the Neath constituency. The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness of the mental health issues faced by members of the public due to the Coronavirus crisis.

Other activities

Jeremy is a member of the Co-operative Party and was elected chair of the Co-operative Group of Senedd Members in 2016. He is also a member of the GMB and Unite trade unions.

Prior to being elected, he had volunteered as a youth mentor with the Young Foundation, and also as an adviser at free legal advice centres. He was an adviser to the Use Your Vote campaign for the 2010 UK general election. He claims his political interests include economic and community development, skills, co-ops and mutuals.[2]

He lives in Alltwen and enjoys film, reading, cooking, hiking and cycling and following local rugby.[2]

References
  1. http://gov.wales/about/cabinet/cabinetm/jeremy-miles?lang=en
  2. "Member Profile". National Assembly for Wales. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  3. Jones, Ciaran (6 May 2016). "Assembly Election 2016: The full list of Welsh AMs". walesonline. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  4. "Jeremy Miles AM". GOV.WALES. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  5. "Stephen Kinnock selected as Labour's candidate for Aberavon". LabourList. 22 March 2014.
  6. Deans, David (6 October 2015). "Candidates picked for Labour's Assembly fights in Gower and Neath". walesonline.
  7. "Jeremy Miles to stand down as Trustee". Bevan Foundation. 20 October 2015.
  8. "Three gay and lesbian AMs 'a milestone'". 7 May 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  9. "Member Profile". National Assembly for Wales.
  10. "Welsh Government cabinet reshuffle: Who is in and out?". BBC News.
  11. Cabinet Members
  12. March 2018, Michael Cross26. "Wales bill set to overhaul legislation". Law Gazette.
  13. Deans, David (26 August 2016). "Labour AM warns of threat to devolution in Brexit vote wake". BBC News. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  14. Miles, Jeremy (31 August 2016). "The three lessons the Assembly needs to learn from Brexit". Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  15. Administrator, walesonline (13 August 2016). "The Pinc List 2016: The 40 most influential LGBT people in Wales". Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  16. "Pinc List 2017". Wales Online.
  17. Fabians, Welsh (12 March 2018). "Wales in a changing world — Jeremy Miles AM". Medium.
  18. "Make Wales 'second chance nation' urges Labour AM". ITV News.
  19. "Potential leader rival backs Drakeford". 4 August 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
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