Lee Waters

Waters support for alternative economic thinking has produced eye catching headlines, after his comments in June 2019 that stated the Government has "pretended we know what we're doing on the economy" for 20 years. His speech stated that "all the orthodox tools we can think of at growing the economy in the conventional way" have only produced static GDP over 20 years across the UK. Plaid Cymru stated the comments were "remarkable", while the Welsh Conservatives described them as "deeply concerning", however the First Minister Mark Drakeford defended Waters by saying he was right to reject the old ways of thinking especially as Wales faces "the global shifts of increased mechanisation, automation and of course, Brexit."

In December 2018 he became Deputy Minister for Transport.

In 2013, he was appointed the director of the Welsh independent think-tank, the Institute of Welsh Affairs. Upon joining the organisation he found it to be "nearly bankrupt" with tired staff and three months of funding left, and described his time in the role as highly fundraising-orientated. He left the role in 2016 in order to campaign to become the Senedd Member for Llanelli, a race which he won with a majority of 382.

He was Vice-Chair of the successful 2011 Yes for Wales campaign, leading on communications for the campaign after being appointed to the cross-party steering committee by the First Minister.

In 2007 he became Director of the green transport organisation, Sustrans Cymru.

Waters joined sustainable cycling charity Sustrans Cymru in January 2007. He led a campaign involving his organisation Sustrans Cymru, the BMA, and the NAHT, who wrote a joint letter arguing for an independent commission to review whether the National Assembly for Wales was underfunded. This campaign formed the groundwork for the Holtham Commission.

In 2001 Waters joined the ITV Wales political unit where he reported as a lobby correspondent and presented the weekly politics programme Waterfront, becoming chief political correspondent. He stated he moved out of the industry after he lost interest in learning short hand and did not see it as a job "for a grown up".

After graduating Waters received multiple job offers: from the PPS to the Secretary of State for Wales Nick Ainger, from Peter Hain MP, and from Ron Davies MP. He went on to work as the Political Secretary to Davies in August 1998 as part of the leadership campaign between him and Rhodri Morgan. Davies' campaign famously ended after his "moment of madness" in 1998.

He went to study at University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He joined the Labour Party in 1994 upon starting his studies and went on to the University's Parliamentary Placement Scheme where he worked in Westminster. Upon graduating he took a year out to work for his local MP Alan Williams during the 1997 general election. This was followed by an internship in the United States House of Representatives as an ESU Capitol Hill Scholar for a summer.

Lee Waters (born 12 February 1976) is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician, who was elected as the Member of the Senedd for Llanelli in May 2016.