Roger Thomas (British politician)
Encyclopedia
Roger Gareth Thomas was a British
Labour Party
politician
.
He was born at Garnant, Carmarthenshire, on 14 November 1925, the son of Evan J. Thomas, a coalminer who later became a baker, and Beryl Thomas. The family was Welsh-speaking and left-wing. Thomas inherited a fierce anti-Conservative standpoint which remained with him throughout his life. He received his education at Ammanford Grammar School, and the London Hospital Medical School. He qualified as a medical practitioner in 1948 just as the National Health Service was beginning. He served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps (national service), 1949-52, a period during which he saw service in west Africa. He returned to south Wales to practise as a family doctor in the Cross Hands area between Port Talbot and Carmarthen in 1952, serving the local community there for more than forty years.
He joined the Labour Party in 1970, securing election as the Labour member for the Saron ward on the Dyfed County Council where he served from 1977 until 1979.
In 1979, Thomas was elected Member of Parliament
for Carmarthen
, defeating the President of Plaid Cymru
, Gwynfor Evans
. It was one of only two Labour gains throughout the whole of Great Britain in that general election which saw Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives sweep to power at Westminster. He continued to represent the constituency until his resignation in 1987, having successfully fought off a powerful challenge from the Conservatives in the person of Nigel Thomas in the June 1983 general election. A member of the Fabian Society, he was appointed a member of the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs in 1979 and he was also opposition spokesman on Welsh Affairs.
He was one of the few Labour MPs to represent a predominantly rural area and concentrated on agriculture and EEC issues. Although mildly supportive of devolution, Thomas was opposed to what he regarded as the excesses of Welsh nationalism.
On 30 January 1984 Thomas was convicted at Gowerton Magistrates' Court, Swansea
, of importuning for immoral purposes at a men's public lavatory (he was fined £75). The case was reported and attracted negative publicity for Thomas, who announced to Carmarthen Constituency Labour Party
on 2 March that he would resign his seat. However, he delayed his resignation to allow for a successor to be selected.
In the meantime, Thomas continued his Parliamentary activity and became one of the most active Welsh MPs of all. He also received a good deal of sympathy on his plight, and times had moved on since William Field
was forced to resign in similar circumstances thirty years before. A similar scandal involving a Conservative MP also deflected some attention. He was also pressed to stay on by the Labour whips who feared a byelection in a marginal seat may be lost. By the end of July, Thomas had started to have doubts about resigning, to the chagrin of his constituency, and on 17 August he announced he would remain until the dissolution of Parliament.
In an acrimonious selection of a new Labour Candidate for the constituency in 1985, Thomas' preferred choice was a London-based trade union official and London Borough of Bromley
Councillor, Ira Walters. Walters, a Gorseinon
-born Welsh Speaker was, at age 23, the youngest candidate in the UK 1983 General Election, contesting the Conwy Constituency. In the 1985 selection, he acquired the majority of branch nominations in the Constituency, largely from the eastern, industrialised areas of the Constituency. His was a controversial nomination given that he was a Political Assistant to Eric Hammond
, General Secretary of the Electricians' Trade Union, the EETPU, at a time when that trade union was at odds with the majority of trade union views on the major industrial disputes at that time involving Fleet Street/Wapping and the Miners' strike. Walters, however, despite being the favourite to gain the nomination lost to the local Trinity College lecturer, Dr Alan Wynne Williams
, supported by very active Labour Party Branches in Carmarthen town and who went on to win the seat in the subsequent General Election.
Thomas duly retired from Parliament at the dissolution in 1987. He was married to Indeg, the daughter of a minister with the Welsh Independents. They had one son and one daughter. They lived at Ffynnon Wen, Capel Hendre, Ammanford. Roger Thomas died on 1 September 1994 and was cremated at Swansea Crematorium.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
He was born at Garnant, Carmarthenshire, on 14 November 1925, the son of Evan J. Thomas, a coalminer who later became a baker, and Beryl Thomas. The family was Welsh-speaking and left-wing. Thomas inherited a fierce anti-Conservative standpoint which remained with him throughout his life. He received his education at Ammanford Grammar School, and the London Hospital Medical School. He qualified as a medical practitioner in 1948 just as the National Health Service was beginning. He served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps (national service), 1949-52, a period during which he saw service in west Africa. He returned to south Wales to practise as a family doctor in the Cross Hands area between Port Talbot and Carmarthen in 1952, serving the local community there for more than forty years.
He joined the Labour Party in 1970, securing election as the Labour member for the Saron ward on the Dyfed County Council where he served from 1977 until 1979.
In 1979, Thomas was elected Member of Parliament
Member 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 Carmarthen
Carmarthen (UK Parliament constituency)
Carmarthen was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1542 and 1997...
, defeating the President of 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...
, 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 ....
. It was one of only two Labour gains throughout the whole of Great Britain in that general election which saw Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives sweep to power at Westminster. He continued to represent the constituency until his resignation in 1987, having successfully fought off a powerful challenge from the Conservatives in the person of Nigel Thomas in the June 1983 general election. A member of the Fabian Society, he was appointed a member of the Select Committee on Welsh Affairs in 1979 and he was also opposition spokesman on Welsh Affairs.
He was one of the few Labour MPs to represent a predominantly rural area and concentrated on agriculture and EEC issues. Although mildly supportive of devolution, Thomas was opposed to what he regarded as the excesses of Welsh nationalism.
On 30 January 1984 Thomas was convicted at Gowerton Magistrates' Court, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, of importuning for immoral purposes at a men's public lavatory (he was fined £75). The case was reported and attracted negative publicity for Thomas, who announced to Carmarthen Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
on 2 March that he would resign his seat. However, he delayed his resignation to allow for a successor to be selected.
In the meantime, Thomas continued his Parliamentary activity and became one of the most active Welsh MPs of all. He also received a good deal of sympathy on his plight, and times had moved on since William Field
William J. Field
William James Field was a British politician who found his career ruined by a conviction for "importuning for immoral purposes" in the 1950s. He was Labour Member of Parliament for Paddington North from 1946 to 1953....
was forced to resign in similar circumstances thirty years before. A similar scandal involving a Conservative MP also deflected some attention. He was also pressed to stay on by the Labour whips who feared a byelection in a marginal seat may be lost. By the end of July, Thomas had started to have doubts about resigning, to the chagrin of his constituency, and on 17 August he announced he would remain until the dissolution of Parliament.
In an acrimonious selection of a new Labour Candidate for the constituency in 1985, Thomas' preferred choice was a London-based trade union official and London Borough of Bromley
London Borough of Bromley
The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...
Councillor, Ira Walters. Walters, a Gorseinon
Gorseinon
Gorseinon is a town in southwest Wales, near the Loughor estuary. It was a small village until the late 19th century when it grew around the coal mining and tinplate industries. It is situated in the north west of Swansea, around north west of the city centre...
-born Welsh Speaker was, at age 23, the youngest candidate in the UK 1983 General Election, contesting the Conwy Constituency. In the 1985 selection, he acquired the majority of branch nominations in the Constituency, largely from the eastern, industrialised areas of the Constituency. His was a controversial nomination given that he was a Political Assistant to Eric Hammond
Eric Hammond
Eric Albert Barrett Hammond, OBE, was general secretary of the EETPU, a British trade union, from 1984 to 1992....
, General Secretary of the Electricians' Trade Union, the EETPU, at a time when that trade union was at odds with the majority of trade union views on the major industrial disputes at that time involving Fleet Street/Wapping and the Miners' strike. Walters, however, despite being the favourite to gain the nomination lost to the local Trinity College lecturer, Dr Alan Wynne Williams
Alan Wynne Williams
Alan Wynne Williams is a British Labour politician. He studied at Jesus College, Oxford. He was elected Member of Parliament for Carmarthen in 1987. Following constituency boundary changes in 1997, his seat was renamed Carmarthen East and Dinefwr...
, supported by very active Labour Party Branches in Carmarthen town and who went on to win the seat in the subsequent General Election.
Thomas duly retired from Parliament at the dissolution in 1987. He was married to Indeg, the daughter of a minister with the Welsh Independents. They had one son and one daughter. They lived at Ffynnon Wen, Capel Hendre, Ammanford. Roger Thomas died on 1 September 1994 and was cremated at Swansea Crematorium.