Matthew Jones, the newly elected Plaid Cymru MS for Sir Fynwy Torfaen, has said he wants to be a campaigner and a voice for those who do not feel represented, drawing on personal experiences of loss and identity.
The 38-year-old was elected in May's Senedd election to represent a constituency that includes Pontypool, where he was born, and Cwmbran, where he now lives. Growing up, he said he did not feel there were politicians who represented or spoke for people like him, and he described Pontypool as feeling "forgotten" even in his youth.
"You really grow up in that mindset of, 'Why is this place forgotten? Where are our politicians?'"
Personal causes and identity
Mr Jones lost his mother, Sue, to breast cancer when he was just 18 months old, and he wants to be a visible ally to those in the LGBTQ+ community. He said he feels he would let those communities down if he did not use his platform.
"I'm a gay man, and I am 100% comfortable in saying that I'm part of a community that's not just gay men, it's L,G,B,T,Q+. I believe firmly that if you don't stand up for for one part of that community, you're letting the whole community down."
He said he will never hide who he is or what he believes in. "I don't want to hide who I am, I don't want to hide what I stand for. Maybe it's that I've just come out of an election and I feel like I'm still in campaigning mode, but I don't think it is. I want to be the kind of person that will stand up for people."
"That's something that, if anything, I want to achieve in this time in office, whether it's four years, whether it's more, I don't know, is that people feel when they've come to me that, 'This guy listened, this guy did something'."
Background and journey to politics
Mr Jones, a former academic tutor at Aberystwyth University and county councillor in Ceredigion, learned Welsh in school after his father placed him in a Welsh language unit. He studied Theatre at Aberystwyth University through the medium of Welsh and completed a PhD on Theatre for Young Welsh Audiences in the Digital Age.
His time at the university saw him become a Plaid Cymru member after a visit from Rhun ap Iorwerth, who was then an AM. Mr Jones was a warden in Pantycelyn, the university's Welsh language halls, when Mr ap Iorwerth visited.
"I remember asking a question and saying, 'Oh sorry, I'm not a Plaid member, but, you know, I just want to ask a question' and he said, "You're not a Plaid member yet." "I thought about that afterwards, and I thought, 'Oh, actually, why aren't I a Plaid member? It sounds great'. So I joined Plaid after that."
He credits Leanne Wood as someone who persuaded him to join Plaid. While living in Ceredigion, he worked on the 2015 General Election campaign where then-Plaid-candidate Mike Parker faced deselection calls over claims he once compared some English-born residents of rural Wales to Nazis.
After working as a part-time tutor at Aberystwyth University during his PhD, he began working for Plaid Cymru in a series of roles before joining the staff of Elin Jones. He was elected to Ceredigion Council after the death of Paul James, standing in his memory.
"I thought if I stand in that by-election, I'll do it for a certain amount of time and I would really want to like honour the work he did because he was he was a real character," he said.
Cancer advocacy and Welsh Gender Service
After five years in Ceredigion, he moved back to Pontypool during the Covid pandemic and took a job with the Plaid group in Senedd communications, before moving to Breast Cancer Now. He cited the "injustice" of his mother's life being cut short as inspiration.
"I don't want any child to have to go through that. There are cases now where it's still happening. Women, the younger they are getting breast cancer, the more aggressive it seems." He said women need to be aware of their bodies and feel confident raising changes with their doctor, adding that younger people with breast cancer are often "brushed off" with comments like "You're too young to get breast cancer".
He expects cancer and healthcare inequalities to feature heavily in his Senedd contributions, along with left-behind communities. He has already staked a position on the suspension of services at the Welsh Gender Service, posting a lengthy statement in response.
"A person’s identity, including whether they are transgender, is a deeply personal thing. But the constant, disrespectful debate continues to intrude into people’s private lives and reduce experiences to toilets and body parts, all while scaremongering about people who simply want to live authentically."
"Now this debate is intruding directly into people’s healthcare with the decision to suspend gender-affirming surgery through the Welsh Gender Service. It’s the most invasive step and is having real effects on people’s lives."
He said referrals are made by trained clinicians with relevant medical expertise, and that assessment and treatment already take substantial time, with waits for surgery around two years. "I’m disappointed that the Welsh Gender Service has had to succumb to this external pressure, leaving patients in limbo – some of whom were literally preparing for surgery."
He noted that the Welsh Government is concerned about the decision's effect on patients and has ensured that all other elements of the Gender Service, including psychological support, endocrine support and hormone therapy services, are continuing. "We must see this pause on surgery lifted as soon as possible," his statement read.
He has organised meetings and spoken on the issue in the Senedd. He described a constituent who was "literally in a gown in the hospital waiting" when told the surgery had been cancelled.
"We had a meeting recently where we invited as many trans people who wanted to come to tell us about their experience to come, and it was so important, and it really illustrated the amount of pain and fear that people are going through at the moment."
Mr Jones acknowledged it is a learning curve. "I'm still learning how to use all of the tools that we've got in our armoury to to ask questions, and to hold the government to account, to help the government, but all of that is to essentially make people's lives better, whether that's someone growing up in Pontypool [or not]."
"I want them to feel that, you know, they've got someone here who sees them and who's going to represent them, because I didn't feel that."
