Rhys ab Owen


Rhys ab Owen, also sometimes referred to as Rhys ab Owen Thomas is a Welsh politician representing the South Wales Central constituency since 2021. He was suspended from the Senedd for 42 days - the longest suspension of any Senedd Member, after he was found to have "inappropriately touched" a woman on a night out. A former member of Plaid Cymru, ab Owen was suspended in 2022, and formally expelled from the party in July 2024. His, father Owen John Thomas, represented the same region for the same party.

Background

Rhys ab Owen was born and raised in Cardiff. He is the son of Sian Wyn Thomas, a former headteacher of Ysgol Glan Morfa, Splott, and Owen John Thomas, a former Plaid Cymru politician who represented the South Wales Central region in the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2007. Rhys attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf in Llandaff North, before reading law at the University of Oxford. ab Owen then undertook the Barrister Training Course at Cardiff University, and has practiced as a barrister since 2010.

Political career

ab Owen stood for Plaid Cymru in the 2017 Cardiff Council election in the Canton ward, where he increased the Plaid Cymru vote from 910 to 2,105, narrowly losing to the winning Labour candidates.
Later, ab Owen stood in the 2021 Senedd election as a Plaid Cymru candidate for Cardiff West, competing against the incumbent MS and First Minister Mark Drakeford. Drakeford retained his seat in Cardiff West, with ab Owen finishing third behind Drakeford and the Conservative candidate, Sean Driscoll. However, ab Owen was elected as a Member of the Senedd for South Wales Central, alongside fellow regional Plaid Cymru candidate Heledd Fychan, by virtue of topping the regional list of Plaid Cymru candidates in the region.
Upon reaching the Senedd, ab Owen became Plaid Cymru's constitution and justice spokesperson.
ab Owen is a member of the Senedd petitions committee. He also is a member of cross-party groups on beer and pubs, dementia, digital rights and democracy, faith, lung health, policing, Public and Commercial Services Union and rented housing and leasehold properties.

Inappropriate Conduct and Suspension

On 8 November 2022, ab Owen was suspended from Plaid Cymru, pending an investigation by the Senedd's standards watchdog over an alleged breach of the code of conduct. On 6 March 2024, the Senedd's Standards of Conduct Committee recommended that ab Owen be suspended from the Senedd for 42 sitting days after finding that he had "inappropriately touched" a woman on a night out and twice called her a "bitch". On 13 March 2024, the Senedd agreed to suspended the member according to the Standards of Conduct Committee's recommendation. He was allowed to return to the Senedd on the 15 May 2024, after his suspension concluded. His case has prompted calls for a recall system to be implemented for the Senedd. In July 2024, he was expelled from Plaid Cymru, with the party stating he would not be able to re-apply for two years.

Personal life

In 2019, ab Owen married Manon Eluned George; the couple have a daughter. He lists his recreations as "Welsh history, choir, family, chapel" and is a member of the Ifor Bach club in Cardiff.