He was a councillor and a leader of the Liberal Democrats on Aberconwy Borough Council for a number of years, and stood as a candidate for the parliamentary seat of Conwy five times.

He narrowly missed being elected the last two times he stood, first coming close to beating the Conservatives, with only a margin of 995 votes, and then being beaten by Labour in the General Election of 1997, when the Conservatives lost their majority in the House of Commons.

Roberts is currently president of Wales International, is honorary president of Bite The Ballot, Liberal Democrats for Seekers of Sanctuary (LD4SOS) and Friends of Barka UK and is also vice-president of Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod.

He is a widower with three children and lives in Llandudno on the Creuddyn peninsula, North Wales.

His son, Gareth Roberts, also stood for the same seat for the Liberal Democrats in 2005.