'We were right on 20mph, Brexit was wrong and Nigel Farage would be a disaster for Wales' - the truth according to Julie James

Julie James is one of the Welsh Government cabinet members with the most experience, but she will soon leave her role. She speaks to political editor Ruth Mosalski

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WHEN Julie James speaks, people listen. Not just her opponents in the Senedd, where she is more than happy to put them in their place, but her cabinet colleagues too - especially since First Minister Eluned Morgan made her “minister for delivery” ayear ago.

It’s the sort of title possibly more suited for a spoof sitcom, but it’s also the sort of job you can only give someone you know will ruffle feathers if that's what is needed.

A member of Labour for almost 52 years, she also holds sway in the political party. She was, after all, one of the resignations on that July day last year that signalled to Vaughan Gething he could not resist any longer, and within hours he had quit as First Minister of Wales.

Her official Senedd bio reads: “Julie is a committed green campaigner, environmentalist and a keen swimmer and skier. Julie is a member of Unison and is also a member of Gray's Inn” - a varied mix indeed. She has lived around the world, but moved back to Swansea to raise her three children. Professionally she has worked as a lawyer and been assistant chief executive of Swansea council.

Now, the clock on her time in frontline politics is ticking, as she is one of the 13 Labour Senedd members who will not seek reelection in May's election.

Entering politics was a long-held ambition, and she finally did it at 53. She was brought up in a political household: her father was a Labour Party councillor and trade unionist and, in her words, her parents were “both crazy climate change activists’.

It’s probably no surprise she is also a lifelong vegetarian, something she describes as being “very bl**dy weird” when she was growing up.

“I've always very firmly been of the view, right from when I was 16, if you if you want to change something, you have to stay in it.