Welsh Liberal Democrats mourn the loss of Baroness Jenny Randerson

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have announced the death of Baroness Jennifer Randerson, who passed away at her home in Cardiff on Saturday at the age of 76.

Baroness Randerson was elected as the first Assembly Member for Cardiff Central in the newly established National Assembly for Wales in 1999.

She became the first female Liberal Democrat minister anywhere in the UK as Minister for Culture, Sport, and the Welsh Language from 2000 to 2003, and was acting Deputy First Minister from July 2001 to June 2002.

Creative Future

She was instrumental in introducing “Creative Future,” a cultural strategy for Wales, and “Iaith Pawb,” a strategy aimed at promoting the Welsh language.

After stepping down from the Assembly in 2011, she was appointed a life peer as Baroness Randerson of Roath Park on January 27, 2011.

In the House of Lords, she served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales from September 2012 to May 2015.

She was the first ever female Welsh Liberal Democrat to hold ministerial office at Westminster, and the first Welsh Liberal to hold a UK ministerial post since Gwilym Lloyd-George in 1945.

Jane Dodds MS, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: “I am deeply saddened by the news of Jenny Randerson’s passing.

“Jenny dedicated her life to serving the people of Cardiff and Wales. From free entry to Wales’s national museums to the decision to build Wales Millennium Centre, her work as a minister left an indelible mark on our politics and society.

“She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, colleagues, and the many individuals whose lives she touched through her public service.”

Teacher

Beyond politics, Baroness Randerson, a former teacher, had an enduring commitment to education and the Welsh community, having served as Chancellor of Cardiff University since 2019.

She was also a patron of various charities including Wales Council for Deaf People, the Cardiff and Vale Youth Wind Band and the African Mothers’ Foundation.

She is survived by her husband, Peter Randerson, two adult children and three grandchildren.

Mentor

Responding to the news that Baroness Jenny Randerson had passed away, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Cardiff Council Rodney Berman said: “This news is personally devastating to me. I have known and worked with Jenny closely for the last 30 years. In that time, she has been nothing short of an inspiration to me in her dedication to fighting for a better deal for others through the many important roles she held during a very distinguished political career.

“She has also been a terrific mentor to me in my own political career, showing me how to be such an effective campaigner for local communities and demonstrating how to deliver effectively in office when given that opportunity.

“When I first met her, I can remember just how encouraging she was to me. She quickly persuaded me to be a candidate for the upcoming local elections in Cardiff and was always a great source of sage advice.

“I will never forget working with her closely in the 1999 elections a few years later when the first elections to the new Welsh Assembly were being held on the same day as the Cardiff local elections. As well as fighting to gain a council seat myself at those elections, I worked with Jenny as her campaign manager with responsibility for producing campaign literature across the Cardiff Central constituency.

“I can remember how we persevered on despite some scepticism at the time from the party nationally that we could win. But we both knew better and carried on, surprising many when Jenny snatched the Cardiff Central Assembly seat from future First Minister Mark Drakeford whilst also winning 15 of the 20 council seats within the constituency, including my own.

“Jenny was also incredibly supportive to me later on during the eight years I served as the leader of Cardiff Council and we always kept a good and very productive working relationship throughout.

“In more recent years she maintained her unwavering support, often battling ill health in order to join me on the campaign trail knocking on doors and delivering leaflets.

“We owe Jenny such a debt of gratitude and can be so proud of her being the first female Liberal Democrat politician to become a Minister in both the Welsh Government and later the UK Government. Her contribution to Welsh life and to politics over many decades has been nothing short of immense. I will so much miss being able to turn to her for advice and support and know that so many of my party colleagues in Cardiff and beyond share my devastation at her very sad passing.”