SHE was Wales’ first female party leader and became a member of the country’s inaugural parliament before she turned 30 – but Kirsty Williams is adamant she'll never return to politics.

The former Member of the Senedd for Brecon and Radnorshire was elected to the first Welsh Assembly as a fresh-faced 28-year-old in May 1999. She became Wales’ first female political party leader when she took over the Welsh Liberal Democrats in 2008 and ended her political career serving as education minister under two First Ministers, leaving office of her own accord in May’s Senedd elections, after 22 years.

But whereas she broke so much ground for both Brecon and Radnorshire and female politicians, Ms Williams says being a female politician has only become harder over the last two decades. And she feels misogyny and the rise of social media has made it harder than ever for other women to blaze a trail like her. She even admitted this week that towards the end of her political career, she encountered death threats and online abuse – including comments directed at her children and vulnerable elderly relatives.

“I would definitely say it’s got worse,” Ms Williams, 50, said.

“Obviously, when I was first elected, there wasn’t any social media about and I think it provides a platform where people choose to hide behind anonymity or fake profiles, whereas if you’re a politician you can’t do that, nor would you want to.”

Ms Williams had appeared on ITV’s Sharp End earlier this week, where she revealed abuse and death threats led to police watching her home and a security officer accompanying her on ministerial visits.

“I’m afraid for many politicians, because abuse and trolling is priced in to what you have to put up with to do your job.

“Regardless of political persuasion, I don’t think that’s acceptable. I think it’s really dangerous for our democracy because it will potentially put off really good people from standing. Whether that be in local community councils or county councils or parliament.”

The married mother of three added: “For me it became really difficult to shield my children from that abuse, it became distressing for them to read about it.

“Sometimes people would not have the courage to address me but my children, my husband and even my elderly mother-in-law have had unkind words said to them in an attempt to make a point to me.

“I think that’s really dangerous. People who have got great intentions and are motivated by all the right things and who would serve their community would maybe choose different ways of doing that and frontline politics will be worse for their absence.”

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There are double the amount of female MPs in the UK today compared to when Ms Williams first entered the spotlight just before the turn of the century.

Labour’s landslide victory at the 1997 election led to a massive spike in female MPs, with 101 women from the Labour Party alone elected to the House of Commons that year. There were 120 in all, filling 659 seats – a figure that has lurched from 18.2 per cent to 34 per cent in less than quarter of a century, with 222 women occupying 650 seats in parliament today.

And yet, disparity and uncomfortable issues remain. Kim Leadbeater, who held on to the Batley and Spen ward in Yorkshire by narrowly easing to victory in a by-election on Thursday, attracted media attention last week when she was seen to be harassed and chased by a group of males while out canvassing in her community. Ms Leadbeater poignantly won the seat her sister Jo Cox had held before being murdered ahead of hosting a surgery in June 2016.

Ms Williams, who said she has deactivated her Facebook account since leaving office, admits social media can be both a blessing and a curse.

“Social media can be a really powerful tool for good,” she said.

“You don’t want people to agree with you all the time but there are more respectful ways to disagree and put your point across.

“It’s a real challenge in making sure that doesn’t turn into something more serious or devastating as we saw in the case with Jo Cox. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with a lot of great politicians of all political persuasions in my political years, the vast majority of them have been motivated by a genuine desire to do good.

“But I also understand there are people who would potentially not choose to do that because of what has developed in social media which can be a very toxic mix.”

Ms Williams admits, after such a hectic career, adjusting to normal life has been a different kind of challenge – and she confirmed she definitely won’t be returning to active politics.

“It’s certainly a lot less stressful. I now have lots more time to spend with my family and, Covid rules willing, my friends,” she said.

“It’s a period of adjustment because you go from working at 100 miles per hour, it’s been strange, but definitely the right decision for me.”

Pushed on whether she could ever be tempted back to the campaign trail, she added: “No. No thank you.

“I’m very fortunate to have had a very long and happy career in politics. I enjoyed mostly every minute of it. It’s been a huge honour to represent Brecon and Radnor at the Senedd and to serve as a minister, but 22 years is a very long time.

“I’m proud of what I achieved but now it’s time to think about what to do with the rest of my life.”