Gerald Jones is the Labour MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare, having first been elected for the predecessor seat of Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney at the 2015 general election.  

In the 2024 general election, Jones won 15,791 votes, representing 44.8% of the vote. The Reform UK candidate, Gareth Thomas, received 8,344 votes (23.7%), while the Plaid Cymru candidate, Francis Whitefoot, secured 4,768 votes (13.5%). Jones was duly elected with a majority of 7,447 votes.

The Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare constituency was newly created for the 2024 election, primarily from the abolished Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney seat and parts of the Cynon Valley seat in South Wales. The area is considered a safe Labour seat.

Political Career

Jones is a member of the House of Commons Welsh affairs select committee (since November 2025). The Welsh affairs committee examines the UK government’s policy and spending as it relates to Wales. Its primary role is to scrutinise the work of the secretary of state for Wales and the Wales Office.

Jones served as an assistant government whip from July 2024 to September 2025. He previously served as an opposition whip from December 2021 until the 2024 general election.

Jones’ past frontbench roles include shadow minister for Scotland (September 2023 – July 2024), shadow minister for Wales (April 2020 – September 2023 and October 2016 – July 2017), and shadow minister for defence covering veterans (July 2017 – April 2020).

His past committee service includes the public administration and constitutional affairs committee (2015-2017), the Welsh affairs committee (2015-2016), and the Welsh grand committee (2022-2024).

Jones is a patron of LGBT+ Labour – a socialist society formally affiliated with the Labour Party.

He delivered his maiden speech on 2 June 2015 during a debate on health and social care.

In it, he said: “Merthyr has been at the forefront of the fight for social justice for generations, and it was also at the forefront of the industrial revolution… During the 1830s, the Dowlais ironworks was the largest in the world, employing more than 5,000 people…

“It remembers the 1831 Merthyr rising, when, for the first time, workers marched under the red flag that was later adopted internationally as the symbol of the working classes.”

Before entering parliament, Jones served as a Labour councillor on Caerphilly county borough council from 1995 to 2015, representing the New Tredegar ward. He served as deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for housing.

Political views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Oppose leadership election: In May 2026, Jones was among the over 100 Labour MPs who signed a joint statement insisting it was “no time for a leadership contest.” The letter was an intervention in the political crisis engulfing Keir Starmer’s premiership, after Labour suffered heavy losses in the 2026 local elections and devolved elections to the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru. It was organised as a counterweight to a mounting rebellion that had seen high-profile figures, including some ministers, call for Starmer’s resignation.

The statement read: “Last week we had a devastatingly tough set of election results. It shows we have a hard job ahead to win back trust from the electorate.

“That job needs to start today – with all of us working together to deliver the change the country needs.

“We must focus on that. This is no time for a leadership contest.”

Labour deputy leadership 2025: Jones was one of 117 Labour MPs who nominated Lucy Powell for the party’s deputy leadership in September 2025. The election followed the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after an investigation into her tax affairs. It marked the first time since 2007 that Labour had held a deputy leadership contest while in government.

Powell, the former leader of the House of Commons, was seen as a candidate representing the party’s “soft left”; she was support by leading soft left figures including Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham. She secured 117 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), above the 80 required, and went on to win the election – defeating Bridget Phillipson with 54.3% of the vote.

Labour leadership 2020: Jones was one of 22 Labour who nominated Emily Thornberry for the party’s leadership in early 2020. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn following the party’s defeat in the 2019 general election, which resulted in Labour’s fewest seats in the House of Commons since 1935.

Thornberry, then the shadow foreign secretary, was one of five candidates to reach the second stage of the contest. However, she was eliminated from the race on 15 February 2020 after failing to secure the required 33 nominations from Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) or three affiliated groups. This left Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Lisa Nandy as the three candidates on the final membership ballot.

Labour leadership 2015: Jones was one of 68 Labour MPs who nominated Andy Burnham for the party’s leadership in June 2015. The election followed the resignation of Ed Miliband after the party’s defeat in the 2015 general election. It was the first contest held under the “one member, one vote” system, which replaced the previous electoral college.

Burnham, the shadow health secretary, was initially considered the frontrunner. He secured 68 nominations from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), comfortably exceeding the 35 required to reach the final ballot. He ultimately finished second in the contest with 19% of the vote, losing to Jeremy Corbyn in the first round.

Corbyn loyalty list: In March 2016, Jones was labelled as “neutral but not hostile” by the Corbyn leadership in a leaked list which categorised Labour MPs by their perceived loyalty.

Labour leadership 2016: Jones was one of 162 Labour MPs who nominated Owen Smith for the party’s leadership in July 2016. The election was triggered by a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn following the EU referendum, which led to a wave of shadow cabinet resignations and a vote of no confidence supported by 172 MPs. Smith, the former shadow work and pensions secretary, was ultimately defeated by Corbyn, who won with an increased mandate of 61.8% of the vote.

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: Jones supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of constituents, 58.4% of whom voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Jones voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Welfare

Welfare vote (July 2025): Jones voted in favour of the government’s flagship welfare bill at second reading. The vote came after ministers agreed to significant concessions to avoid defeat via a mass rebellion of Labour MPs on 1 July 2025.

Welfare vote (July 2015): Alongside almost one quarter of his colleagues, Jones voted against the Conservative government’s Welfare Reform and Work Bill at second reading – defying the party whip which instructed Labour MPs to abstain. This decision to abstain, taken by interim Labour leader Harriet Harman, caused a furious backlash within the party, particularly from its left wing. It became a defining issue in the ongoing leadership contest. Jeremy Corbyn was the only candidate to vote against the bill. Overall, 48 Labour MPs voted against the proposed legislation.

Assisted dying

Jones voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Jones voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Jones voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons. Labour was split over the issue with 140 of its 230 MPs going against leader Jeremy Corbyn and backing the motion.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Jones voted against a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Jones was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Before Politics

Jones was born in Phillipstown, New Tredegar, Wales on 21 August 1970.  

His career before becoming an MP included roles in community development.

Personal Life

In 2024, PinkNews listed Jones among a number of out LGBTQ+ parliamentarians.

Jones is in a relationship with Tyrone Powell.

Powell has been employed as his parliamentary assistant.

Trivia

Jones joined the Labour Party at 18.

His interest in politics began during the 1984 miners’ strike.