Emrys Roberts
Encyclopedia
Emrys Owen Roberts was a Welsh Liberal
politician and businessman.
and educated at Caernarfon Grammar School, at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he gained a law degree, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and the School of International Studies in Geneva
. He served in the RAF during the Second World War reaching the rank of Squadron Leader. He was called to the bar at Grays Inn in 1944.
for Merionethshire
between 1945 and 1951 when he was defeated. He was also sometime Chairman of the Welsh Liberal Party. By 1947 he had been awarded the MBE
. He was Chairman of the Development Board for Rural Wales between 1977 and 1981, and a member of a large number of other public bodies in Wales including being Chairman of the Eisteddfod Council. He was active in the Parliament for Wales Campaign launched in 1950, chaired by Lady Megan Lloyd George but by the time the campaign got into top gear both he and Lady Megan had lost their Parliamentary seats. In 1945
and 1950
Roberts had been opposed by Labour
, Conservative
and Plaid Cymru
candidates. The Plaid Cymru candidate was Gwynfor Evans
later to be the first ever PC Member of Parliament. Evans did not stand in 1951 but instead of the Plaid votes transferring to the Liberals, they went Labour as nationalist voters preferred a socialist Labour party to a nationalist Liberal one. Jo Grimond wrote to Roberts after the election saying he had thought Roberts would hold his seat believing the former Plaid voters would transfer to him but there were other local factors operating in the constituency, notably a lack of organisation and preparation compared to the other parties
in the more recent traditions of H H Asquith’s post-1908 administration, the economic thinking of John Maynard Keynes
and the social and industrial heritage of William Beveridge
and David Lloyd George
. Together with Lady Megan Lloyd George and Edgar Granville, Roberts was one of a group of MPs determined to stand up against what they saw as the party’s drift to the Right under the leadership of Clement Davies
and to save its Radical soul. In 1950, Roberts criticised Davies saying that the party was being badly led and that he should be consulting the Deputy Leader (Lady Megan) rather than the Chief Whip on matters of policy in the first instance. As a reward for their pro-Labour leanings (see also next section below) and support of the Labour government in Parliamentary votes, the Conservatives decided to renew their opposition against Lady Megan in Anglesey
and Roberts in Merioneth and their intervention was a critical factor in the loss of these two long-standing Liberal seats. By way of contrast, the Tories declined to stand candidates in the constituencies held by Clement Davies, Roderic Bowen
and Rhys Hopkin Morris
who had the reputation of being more right-wing, all of whom held their seats. After the 1951 general election
a number of leading Radicals gave up on the Liberal Party with Lady Megan and Granville defecting to Labour followed soon after by other former MPs Dingle Foot
and Wilfrid Roberts
.
, proposing a working relationship between the Labour government, with its majority of eight and the Liberal Party which had nine MPs. According to Roberts, Morrison was well disposed to the idea but Attlee’s decision to dissolve Parliament and call the October 1951 general election
put an end to it. Roberts added that the Lib-Lab Pact
concluded between David Steel
and James Callaghan
in 1977-78 achieved what he and Lady Megan had been trying to do in 1951.
From 1968-1977, Roberts was Chairman of the Mid-Wales Development Corporation and then Chairman of the Development Board for Rural Wales from 1977–1981. He was a member of the Welsh Development Agency
, 1977–81 and Director of the Development Corporation of Wales, 1978–81.
, 1961-1963, papers relating to other committees on which Emrys Roberts sat, 1967-1983, and other miscellaneous papers, 1945-1972 are deposited in the National Library of Wales
. Roberts was also Vice-President of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
, parliamentary candidate in Newport in 1956, Ebbw Vale in 1960 and Merthyr Tydfil in the 1970s and a leader of the Plaid group on Merthyr Council.
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
politician and businessman.
Education & early career
Emrys Roberts was born at CaernarfonCaernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
and educated at Caernarfon Grammar School, at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, where he gained a law degree, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and the School of International Studies in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. He served in the RAF during the Second World War reaching the rank of Squadron Leader. He was called to the bar at Grays Inn in 1944.
Welsh MP
Roberts served as the Liberal Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Merionethshire
Merioneth (UK Parliament constituency)
Merioneth, sometimes called Merionethshire, was a constituency in North Wales established in 1542, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the English Parliament, and later to the Parliament of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom...
between 1945 and 1951 when he was defeated. He was also sometime Chairman of the Welsh Liberal Party. By 1947 he had been awarded the MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
. He was Chairman of the Development Board for Rural Wales between 1977 and 1981, and a member of a large number of other public bodies in Wales including being Chairman of the Eisteddfod Council. He was active in the Parliament for Wales Campaign launched in 1950, chaired by Lady Megan Lloyd George but by the time the campaign got into top gear both he and Lady Megan had lost their Parliamentary seats. In 1945
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
and 1950
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
Roberts had been opposed by Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
candidates. The Plaid Cymru candidate was Gwynfor Evans
Gwynfor Evans
Dr Richard Gwynfor Evans , was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. President of Plaid Cymru for thirty six years, he was the first Member of Parliament to represent Plaid Cymru at Westminster ....
later to be the first ever PC Member of Parliament. Evans did not stand in 1951 but instead of the Plaid votes transferring to the Liberals, they went Labour as nationalist voters preferred a socialist Labour party to a nationalist Liberal one. Jo Grimond wrote to Roberts after the election saying he had thought Roberts would hold his seat believing the former Plaid voters would transfer to him but there were other local factors operating in the constituency, notably a lack of organisation and preparation compared to the other parties
The Radical Liberals
The immediate post-war period continued to be difficult for the Liberal Party in terms of political positioning. There was an ideological debate going on as to whether the party should be a party of classical liberal ideas, Free Trade, small government and individual liberty or if it should stand for social liberalismSocial liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
in the more recent traditions of H H Asquith’s post-1908 administration, the economic thinking of John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
and the social and industrial heritage of William Beveridge
William Beveridge
William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge KCB was a British economist and social reformer. He is best known for his 1942 report Social Insurance and Allied Services which served as the basis for the post-World War II welfare state put in place by the Labour government elected in 1945.Lord...
and David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
. Together with Lady Megan Lloyd George and Edgar Granville, Roberts was one of a group of MPs determined to stand up against what they saw as the party’s drift to the Right under the leadership of Clement Davies
Clement Davies
Clement Edward Davies KC, MP was a Welsh politician and leader of the Liberal Party from 1945 to 1956.-Life:...
and to save its Radical soul. In 1950, Roberts criticised Davies saying that the party was being badly led and that he should be consulting the Deputy Leader (Lady Megan) rather than the Chief Whip on matters of policy in the first instance. As a reward for their pro-Labour leanings (see also next section below) and support of the Labour government in Parliamentary votes, the Conservatives decided to renew their opposition against Lady Megan in Anglesey
Ynys Môn (UK Parliament constituency)
Ynys Môn is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
and Roberts in Merioneth and their intervention was a critical factor in the loss of these two long-standing Liberal seats. By way of contrast, the Tories declined to stand candidates in the constituencies held by Clement Davies, Roderic Bowen
Roderic Bowen
Evan Roderic Bowen KC was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.Bowen was educated at Cardigan County School, University College, Aberystwyth, St John's College, Cambridge, Brussels and the Inns of Court. He served in the Army for five years during World War II, reaching the rank of Captain...
and Rhys Hopkin Morris
Rhys Hopkin Morris
Sir Rhys Hopkin Morris was a Welsh Liberal politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1923–1932 and from 1945–1956....
who had the reputation of being more right-wing, all of whom held their seats. After the 1951 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
a number of leading Radicals gave up on the Liberal Party with Lady Megan and Granville defecting to Labour followed soon after by other former MPs Dingle Foot
Dingle Foot
Sir Dingle Mackintosh Foot, Q.C. was a British lawyer and politician, born in Plymouth, Devon.-Education and career:...
and Wilfrid Roberts
Wilfrid Roberts
Wilfrid Hubert Wace Roberts was a British Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party.-Early life:...
.
After Parliament
Emrys Roberts did not join the Labour Party but he largely withdrew from up active politics and devoted himself to a business career. He later became the Director of the Branded Textiles Group. However he did not lose his interest in progressive politics. In 1982 at the height of the difficulties afflicting the Liberal/SDP Alliance over seats negotiations and the dip in support for the Alliance in the polls, he wrote to the Times proposing that the Alliance parties should have a single, joint, leader for the next general election and that there should be a merger of the parties once the election was over. He reminded readers that in 1951 he and Lady Megan Lloyd George had entered into talks with Herbert MorrisonHerbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...
, proposing a working relationship between the Labour government, with its majority of eight and the Liberal Party which had nine MPs. According to Roberts, Morrison was well disposed to the idea but Attlee’s decision to dissolve Parliament and call the October 1951 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
put an end to it. Roberts added that the Lib-Lab Pact
Lib-Lab pact
In British politics, a Lib-Lab pact is a working arrangement between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party.There have been four such arrangements, and one alleged proposal, at the national level...
concluded between David Steel
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats...
and James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
in 1977-78 achieved what he and Lady Megan had been trying to do in 1951.
From 1968-1977, Roberts was Chairman of the Mid-Wales Development Corporation and then Chairman of the Development Board for Rural Wales from 1977–1981. He was a member of the Welsh Development Agency
Welsh Development Agency
The Welsh Development Agency was a QUANGO and later an Assembly Sponsored Public Body established in 1976 to encourage business development and investment in Wales, to clear derelict land and to encourage growth of local businesses...
, 1977–81 and Director of the Development Corporation of Wales, 1978–81.
Records and papers
Records and papers collected by Emrys Roberts between 1959-1981, including correspondence and papers relating to the National Eisteddfod, 1959-1976; the Development Board for Rural Wales, 1973-1981; and Wales West and North TelevisionWales West and North Television
Wales Television, known on screen as Teledu Cymru and often abbreviated to WWN, was the Welsh "Independent Television" contractor awarded the franchise area serving 'North and West Wales', from 1962-68...
, 1961-1963, papers relating to other committees on which Emrys Roberts sat, 1967-1983, and other miscellaneous papers, 1945-1972 are deposited in the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
. Roberts was also Vice-President of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion
The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion was founded in 1751 as a literary society devoted to the preservation of the Welsh language. It was founded by two brothers, Lewis Morris and Richard Morris, natives of Anglesey...
Death
Roberts died in October 1990. He should not be confused with Emrys Roberts who was a vice-president and organizing secretary of Plaid CymruPlaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
, parliamentary candidate in Newport in 1956, Ebbw Vale in 1960 and Merthyr Tydfil in the 1970s and a leader of the Plaid group on Merthyr Council.