Jane Dodds to stand down as Welsh Liberal Democrat leader and remain an MS

Jane Dodds has announced that she is standing down as leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats after nearly nine years in the role. She will continue as the Member of the Senedd for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd. In a statement published on the party’s website on Tuesday 20 October, Dodds says she has spent the summer reflecting on May’s election and believes the work of rebuilding should be led by a new generation.

Leadership role changes, Senedd role continues

Dodds recalls becoming leader in 2017 and says the election result was not what the party had worked for. In explaining her decision, she says she is again its only Senedd member and wants a larger team of Liberal Democrat voices after the next election. Her statement calls for new candidates, councillors and leaders to spend the coming years working in communities and developing policy. That is her account of the party’s task ahead, rather than an announcement of new candidates or a prediction of future seats. The decision concerns the party leadership. Dodds explicitly says she will carry on as an MS; she has not announced a departure from the Senedd in this statement.

An election timetable is still to come

Party president Tim Sly will write to members in the coming days with the timetable for a leadership election, according to Dodds. The announcement does not name a successor, list candidates or specify nomination and voting dates. Dodds thanks the party’s staff and volunteers and says she intends to continue campaigning against child poverty through her Senedd work. The next concrete step is the party’s election timetable. Until that is published, no new leader or date for a completed handover should be assumed.