Liberal Youth Wales
| Liberal Youth Wales Ieuenctid Rhyddfrydol Cymru IR Cymru |
|
|---|---|
| IR Cymru | |
| Chairperson | Sara Lloyd Williams |
| Founded | 2002 (as MIDR Cymru) |
| Headquarters | Freedom Central, Ground Floor, Blake Court, Schooner Way, Cardiff, CF10 4DW |
| Ideology | Liberalism, Social liberalism, Market liberalism, Federalism, British unionism |
| Mother party | Welsh Liberal Democrats |
| United Kingdom affiliation | Liberal Youth |
| Website | |
| http://www.ircymru.org/ | |
Liberal Youth Wales (Welsh:Ieuenctid Rhyddfrydol Cymru, shortened to IR Cymru /ˈaɪ ˈɑːr ˈkəm.rᵻ/), previously "Myfyrwyr a Ieuenctid y Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru - Liberal Democrat Youth and Students Wales"), is the youth wing of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Its membership is open to any member of the Liberal Democrats living, working or studying in Wales and is either under 26 years of age or in full or part-time education above that age.[1]
The organisation has branches all over Wales, including affiliated branches at many Welsh universities.[2][3] IR Cymru campaigns for the aims of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and had members standing in the 2005 General Election and 2007 Welsh Assembly Election,[4] as well as many members who are also councillors across Wales.
It is also a part of the UK Federal Liberal Youth. In April 2009, MIDR Cymru rebranded and relaunched as IR Cymru.[5][6]
Contents
History
IR Cymru was founded in 2002 as MIDR Cymru /ˈmɪ.də ˈkəm.rᵻ/ short for the Welsh Myfyrwyr a Ieuenctid y Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru - the Welsh branch of LDYS (Liberal Democrat Youth and Students Wales).
In 2008 the federal LDYS was re-branded as Liberal Youth. MIDR Cymru followed this in 2009, becoming IR Cymru / Liberal Youth Wales.
List of Chairs
| Name | Term of Office | Branch | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sara Lloyd Williams | 2012 (March - November) 2015 (October) - present | Arfon | Sara was the 2015 Liberal Democrat candidate for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr.[7] |
| Samuel Bennett | 2012 (November) – 2015 | Brecon and Radnorshire | Served Three Terms |
| Samuel Ellis Rees | 2012 (January - March) | Swansea University | Interim chair during reorganisation |
| Vacant | 2011-12 | n/a | No chair was elected for this term. |
| Matt Smith | 2010-11 | University of Glamorgan[8] | Matt Smith was the 2010 Liberal Democrat candidate for Blaenau Gwent.[9] |
| Richard Morgan-Ash | 2009-10 | Aberystwyth University | |
| Corey Shefman | 2008-09 | Cardiff University | Presided over the renaming of MIDR Cymru to IR Cymru. |
| Paul Harding | 2007-08 | Aberystwyth University | |
| Adi Smith | 2005-07 | Aberystwyth University | Served two terms. |
| Sarah Green | 2004-05 | Aberystwyth University[10] | |
| David Bourne | 2003-04 | Aberystwyth University | |
| Matt Jones | 2002-03 |
Internal organisation
IR Cymru is part of the federal structure of Liberal Youth and its Chair is the Welsh Convenor of that organisation. IR Cymru is responsible for tailoring LY campaigns to match political circumstances in Wales, and for developing indigenous campaigns that reflect the status of wales in the United Kingdom. It also serves as an advisory body to the Welsh Liberal Democrats on youth issues.
The Organisation is run by an executive committee consisting of a Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Communications Officer, Policy Officer, Campaigns Officer and Young Members' Representative (all elected annually by all-member ballot) and a Regional Development Officer (appointed by the Membership and Outreach Committee). The Membership and Outreach Committee is made up of a Regional Representative from each of the five Welsh Assembly Regions, the Young Members' Representative, and one elected representative from each affiliated IR Cymru branch. Other standing committees include an NUS Committee, a Policy and Conference Committee and a Campaigns Committee.
Current Executive Committee
The IR Cymru elections during 2015 saw the election of Sara Lloyd Williams. The latest executive, of 2015-16, are listed below.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chair | Sara Lloyd Williams |
| Vice Chair & Treasurer | Liam Clements |
| Policy Officer | Chloe Hutchinson |
| Communications Officer | Trudi Hancock |
| Campaigns Officer | Jessica Rowley |
| Branch Officer | Michael Wilson |
| Non-portfolio Officer | Gurleen Kaur |
Branches
As of July 2012, IR Cymru has branches in Bangor, Ceredigion, and Swansea. With development towards branches in Cardiff and Wrexham.[11]
Within the Welsh Liberal Democrats
IR Cymru is a Specified Associated Organisation (SAO) of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, with two seats on the Welsh Liberal Democrat National Executive Committee and one seat on each of the Party's other Standing Committees (Policy, Campaigns & Candidates and Conference Committees).
Campaigns
IR Cymru has supported all the main campaigns from federal Liberal Youth. In addition, they are currently leading a campaign against homophobic bullying, based around a motion they passed at the Welsh Liberal Democrat conference in Spring.
Members of IR Cymru have also stood in public elections and the recent 2012 local elections saw election victories for IR Cymru in Bangor.[12]
Policy
IR Cymru has successfully proposed motions to the Welsh Party Conference. At the Wrexham conference in Spring 2006 IR Cymru (as MIDR Cymru) successfully proposed a motion against Nuclear power,[13] and a second motion supporting micro-generation schemes. At the Aberystwyth conference in Autumn 2006, they successfully amended a motion on housing to reflect the particular difficulties faced by young people.
In Spring 2009, the re-branded IR Cymru put forward a successful motion which called for the Welsh Assembly to provide better compulsory education for teenagers on social and sex issues, and was partly aimed at tackling homophobic bullying.
In Spring 2013 the Welsh Liberal Democrats Party conference accepted motions on Subsidised Transport for Young People and Political Education within the Welsh Curriculum, proposed by the IR Cymru Executive Committee for 2013.
In the subsequent Spring conference in 2014 IR Cymru successfully proposed and passed a motion calling for more investment into Mental Health provision in Wales.
See also
References
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- ↑ Cardiff Student Liberal Democrats Archived February 7, 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Ben Lloyd in MIDR Cymru's 2006 Annual Report[dead link]
- ↑ Spring 2009 Welsh Liberal Democrat conference agenda[dead link]
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