Finch-Saunders previously represented the
Craig-Y-Don ward on
Llandudno Town Council, and
Conwy County Borough Council. In the
2003 Senedd election, Finch-Saunders stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate for
Wrexham and was third on the regional party list. Elected in
2004, she was appointed to the Cabinet with overall responsibility for Community Safety and Public Protection matters. During her time as a
Councillor, Finch-Saunders was Chair of the Principal Scrutiny Committee and Leader of the
Welsh Conservative Group. In July 2010, following the first
open primary selection to be held in the target seat of Aberconwy, Janet was selected as the Conservative Senedd candidate. In January 2011, she was appointed
Policy Adviser by leader of the
Welsh Conservatives. In this role she advised
Nick Bourne AM on policy involving local government. She was subsequently elected as the Assembly Member for Aberconwy in the
2011 National Assembly for Wales election. Finch-Saunders initiated the Cross-Party Group on Small Shops during the
Fourth Assembly. In the
2016 Senedd election, Finch-Saunders retained her seat, becoming the first person to be re-elected consecutively since the
constituency's inception. Finch-Saunders served as
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Local Government from 2011 to 2018, before becoming the party's Shadow Minister for Social Care, Children, Young People, and Older People. During the
fifth Senedd, she was the Chair of the
Welsh Conservative Group in the
Senedd. From July 2018 until January 2019, Finch-Saunders employed her husband as office manager. In 2019, Janet was elected Chair of the Petitions Committee. In 2020, Finch-Saunders was made the Shadow Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs. In the
2021 Senedd election, Finch-Saunders held the seat with an increased majority of 3,336 and securing 41.69% of the vote. In May 2021, she was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Climate Change. In the Sixth Senedd, she has been a member of the Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, the
Llywydd's Committee and the
Senedd Commission. She is also a member of cross party groups on the Active Travel Act, Biodiversity, Clean Air, Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, Hospice and Palliative Care, North Wales, Older People and Aging, Renewable and Low Carbon Energy, and Small Shops. In the
2026 Senedd election, she will be a candidate in the
Bangor Conwy Môn constituency.
Allegations of Staff Mistreatment In 2022, reports emerged that she had allegedly been mistreating her office staff, who were described as being "left in tears" and she is alleged to have phoned them if she felt they had taken too long while they were on the toilet. Finch Saunders has the highest turnover of staff of any elected member of the Senedd. As a consequence, WalesOnline journalist, Will Hayward, now keeps a running tally of when Janet begins hiring again on the Senedd website on his X (formerly
Twitter) account. == Personal life ==