Ayda Westwood
Ayda Westwood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Renvyle | |
| Assumed office 24 October 2019 | |
| Deputy | James Lawrence |
| Preceded by | William Albright |
| Leader of the People's Labour Party | |
| Assumed office 13 June 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Tony Alty |
| Member of Parliament | |
| Assumed office 18 October 2007 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 August 1967 |
| Nationality | Renvylese |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Jack Westwood |
| Children | 3 |
| Occupation | Politician, trade unionist |
Ayda Westwood is a Renvylese politician who has been Prime Minister since October 2019, following a surprise election victory that same month. Having started her career working in the trade union movement, Westwood successfully stood as candidate for the People's Labour Party in the 2007 parliamentary elections. Rising to party leader by 2015, she led the PLP into two general elections, increasing its share of the vote each time.
Westwood was born in 1967 and was raised by her uncle due to the deaths of her parents when she was two years old. She did not attend university but was involved with political activism from a young age, mostly as a result of the influence of her uncle. It was through her activism that she was introduced to Thomas Baker, the longstanding head of the Confederation of Trade Unions (CTO), who appointed her as a senior adviser to what was then the largest trade union grouping in the country.
After the CTO disbanded in 1998 following a confrontation with the government, Westwood moved more directly into politics, becming chief of staff to Tony Alty, the leader of the PLP. In 2007 she won election to Parliament as a party-list candidate, remaining close to Alty. When he announced his retirement just a few months before the 2015 election, Westwood was chosen as his hand-picked successor and became party leader unchallenged.
The 2015 election resulted in the PLP achieving a net gain of more seats than any other party, but the Liberal People's Party under Prime Minister William Albright was comfortably reelected. As the 2019 election approached, it appeared that the Progressive Party led by James Lawrence would defeat the government. However, a popular PLP manifesto, combined with Westwood's attacks on Lawrence in the television debates, resulted in a surge in support for the PLP, mainly at the expense of the Progressives.
The PLP came first in the election, winning 88 seats (triple its previous highest number), and Westwood was invited to form a government. After one week of negotiations with the Progressives, an agreement was reached in which Lawrence became Deputy Prime Minister. As such, Westwood became the first female Prime Minister in Renvylese history and went on to appoint the first gender balanced cabinet.