Stephen Roy Williams (born 11 October 1966) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol West from the 2005 general election until his defeat by Labour Party candidate Thangam Debbonaire in 2015. As an MP, he served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition government as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Communities and Local Government from 2013 to 2015. He came third in the inaugural 2017 West of England mayoral election, fourth in the 2017 United Kingdom general election where he sought re-election to his former seat of Bristol West, fourth in the 2021 West of England mayoral election, and second in the 2023 Hotwells and Harbourside councillor by-election. Early life and education Stephen Roy Williams was born on 11 October 1966. He grew up in the village of Abercynon in the Cynon Valley in Glamorgan, Wales. He attended Mountain Ash Comprehensive School and the University of Bristol, where he graduated in 1988 with a degree in history. While at the University of Bristol he was President of the SDP/Liberal society, and an active member of the local SDP branch. He later qualified as chartered tax adviser. He worked for Coopers and Lybrand, which would later merge into PricewaterhouseCoopers, from 1988 to 1995. He worked as a tax manager for Kraft Jacobs Suchard in 1995, and in the same role for Grant Thornton from 1996 to 2001 in Cheltenham and Bristol, then as a tax accountant for various firms from 2001 to 2005. Political career Before Parliament Williams was elected to Avon County Council in 1993 for Cabot in central Bristol. The authority was abolished in 1996. He was elected to Bristol City Council in 1995, to the same Cabot ward. He remained a councillor until 1999, leading the Liberal Democrat group on the council from 1995 to 1997. In the 1997 general election Williams stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Bristol South, where he came third with 13.4% of the vote. He was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Bristol West in 2001, when he came second with 28.9% of the vote, and again in 2005, when he gained it from the Labour MP Valerie Davey with 38.3% of the vote. He became the first MP from the Liberal Democrats or its predecessor parties to hold the seat, and the first Liberal or Liberal Democrat MP in Bristol since 1935, as well