Thomas Arthur Lewis
Encyclopedia
Thomas Arthur Lewis was a Welsh
school teacher, barrister
and Liberal Party
politician.
minister from Cemaes, Pembrokeshire
, and his wife Phoebe Griffiths. He attended the County School, Porth, and then at University College, Cardiff, where he took a degree in science In 1919 he married Marjorie Culross from Adelaide
, South Australia
, and they had one daughter.
. Guest would go onto become Chief Whip
in the Coalition government
of David Lloyd George
. Guest later said that he talent-spotted Lewis and induced him to give up teaching and move to London to seek a political career.
Once in London, Lewis studied the law towards qualification as a barrister. Although he had what Guest described as a delicate constitution he joined the Officers' Training Corps at the Inns of Court
in 1915 and was commissioned in April 1916. He served in Salonika
from 1916–18 and achieved the rank of Lieutenant. He resumed his law career on return to Britain and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple
in 1919.
Guest had become one of Lloyd George’s closest advisers and his patronage must have been useful to Lewis in securing the nomination to become Coalition Liberal candidate for the Pontypridd Division
of Glamorgan
. It is not clear if Lewis was the recipient of the Coalition Coupon
as he was opposed by a Conservative candidate at Pontypridd as well as by Labour
. However the anti-socialist votes clearly migrated to Lewis as the Tory
managed only 1.1% of the poll and lost his deposit
. Lewis was elected with a majority 3,175 votes.
as part of a debate on a resolution moved by Edward Wood
the future Lord Halifax to set up a committee of enquiry on federal devolution to all the home countries. As a result of the debate, which was supported by the Welsh members present, Lloyd George established a Speaker's Conference on Devolution which sat from October 1919 – May 1920.)
Lewis championed the rights of nonconformists in relation to the position of the Established church. As a Liberal, Lewis strongly disagreed with the state socialist approach of the Labour Party. He was a member of the Liberal Anti-Nationalization Committee but was in favour of co-partnership
and profit sharing
in industry.
(PPS) to Freddie Guest, who had been government Chief Whip since 1917. When, in 1921, Guest was made Secretary of State for Air
in succession to Winston Churchill
he appointed Lewis his PPS in succession to Lieutenant-Colonel J T C Moore-Brabazon
.
In 1922, Lewis was appointed a Junior Lord of the Treasury
to enable him to be the government’s Welsh whip
but under the constitutional arrangements of the day this meant he had to resign and fight a by-election
in his Pontypridd seat. The by-election took place on 25 July 1922 and was a straight fight between Lewis and Thomas Isaac Mardy Jones
for Labour. Lewis’ majority of 3,175 at the 1918 general election was turned into a Labour majority of 4,080 at the by-election. Mardy Jones put his victory down to the disillusion of the electorate with the government’s performance but also singled out what he clearly believed was the government’s poor treatment of the coal miners.
took place on 15 November, and by then Lewis had secured adoption as the Lloyd George, National Liberal
candidate for the University of Wales Parliamentary constituency
.
By this time Lewis was in poor health despite being relatively young at 41 years old. He contested the election from a nursing home. He won the seat defeating two strong opponents. Former minister Sir Ellis Ellis-Griffith
stood for the Liberals. The Labour candidate was Dr (later Dame) Olive Wheeler
, a university lecturer in education who later became Professor of Education at Cardiff University
.
possibly leaving him susceptible to infection.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
school teacher, barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and Liberal Party
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.
Family and education
Lewis was the son of the Reverend J.M. Lewis, a BaptistBaptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister from Cemaes, Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, and his wife Phoebe Griffiths. He attended the County School, Porth, and then at University College, Cardiff, where he took a degree in science In 1919 he married Marjorie Culross from Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, and they had one daughter.
Career
After University, Lewis worked briefly as a school teacher but in 1910 he moved to London to become the private secretary to Freddie Guest who was at that time the Liberal MP for East DorsetEast Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)
East Dorset is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was formally known as the Eastern Division of Dorset. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
. Guest would go onto become Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
in the Coalition government
Coalition Government 1916-1922
The Coalition Government of David Lloyd George came to power in the United Kingdom in December 1916, replacing the earlier wartime coalition under H.H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for reverses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Opposition...
of David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
. Guest later said that he talent-spotted Lewis and induced him to give up teaching and move to London to seek a political career.
Once in London, Lewis studied the law towards qualification as a barrister. Although he had what Guest described as a delicate constitution he joined the Officers' Training Corps at the Inns of Court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
in 1915 and was commissioned in April 1916. He served in Salonika
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
from 1916–18 and achieved the rank of Lieutenant. He resumed his law career on return to Britain and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1919.
Election to Parliament
By the time of the 1918 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
Guest had become one of Lloyd George’s closest advisers and his patronage must have been useful to Lewis in securing the nomination to become Coalition Liberal candidate for the Pontypridd Division
Pontypridd (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 1980s:-Elections in the 1970s:...
of Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
. It is not clear if Lewis was the recipient of the Coalition Coupon
Coalition Coupon
The ‘Coalition Coupon’, often referred to as ‘the coupon’, refers to the letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the United Kingdom general election, 1918 endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory in...
as he was opposed by a Conservative candidate at Pontypridd as well as 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...
. However the anti-socialist votes clearly migrated to Lewis as the Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
managed only 1.1% of the poll and lost his deposit
Deposit (politics)
A deposit is a sum of money that a candidate must pay in return for the right to stand for election to certain political offices, particularly seats in legislatures.-United Kingdom:...
. Lewis was elected with a majority 3,175 votes.
Welsh Liberal MP
Lewis spoke Welsh and English and spoke in Parliament in favour of Welsh Home RuleDevolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
as part of a debate on a resolution moved by Edward Wood
E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, , known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and as The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was one of the most senior British Conservative politicians of the 1930s, during which he held several senior ministerial posts, most notably as...
the future Lord Halifax to set up a committee of enquiry on federal devolution to all the home countries. As a result of the debate, which was supported by the Welsh members present, Lloyd George established a Speaker's Conference on Devolution which sat from October 1919 – May 1920.)
Lewis championed the rights of nonconformists in relation to the position of the Established church. As a Liberal, Lewis strongly disagreed with the state socialist approach of the Labour Party. He was a member of the Liberal Anti-Nationalization Committee but was in favour of co-partnership
Co-determination
Co-determination is a practice whereby the employees have a role in management of a company. The word is a literal translation from the German word Mitbestimmung. Co-determination rights are different in different legal environments. In some countries, like the USA, the workers have virtually no...
and profit sharing
Profit sharing
Profit sharing, when used as a special term, refers to various incentive plans introduced by businesses that provide direct or indirect payments to employees that depend on company's profitability in addition to employees' regular salary and bonuses...
in industry.
Parliamentary appointments
Soon after entering Parliament, Lewis was rewarded for his service to his former chief with his appointment as Parliamentary Private SecretaryParliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) to Freddie Guest, who had been government Chief Whip since 1917. When, in 1921, Guest was made Secretary of State for Air
Secretary of State for Air
The Secretary of State for Air was a cabinet level British position. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. It was created on 10 January 1919 to manage the Royal Air Force...
in succession to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
he appointed Lewis his PPS in succession to Lieutenant-Colonel J T C Moore-Brabazon
John Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara
John Theodore Cuthbert Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara, GBE, MC, PC was an English aviation pioneer and Conservative politician...
.
In 1922, Lewis was appointed a Junior Lord of the Treasury
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords .Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Lord...
to enable him to be the government’s Welsh whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
but under the constitutional arrangements of the day this meant he had to resign and fight a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in his Pontypridd seat. The by-election took place on 25 July 1922 and was a straight fight between Lewis and Thomas Isaac Mardy Jones
Thomas Isaac Mardy Jones
Thomas Isaac Mardy Jones was a British politician and miner.The son of a Welsh miner, who later died in the mines, Jones rose up the ranks of the Labour Party to become Member of Parliament for Pontypridd in 1922....
for Labour. Lewis’ majority of 3,175 at the 1918 general election was turned into a Labour majority of 4,080 at the by-election. Mardy Jones put his victory down to the disillusion of the electorate with the government’s performance but also singled out what he clearly believed was the government’s poor treatment of the coal miners.
University of Wales Member of Parliament
Lewis was not out of Parliament for long. The 1922 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
took place on 15 November, and by then Lewis had secured adoption as the Lloyd George, National Liberal
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)
The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:...
candidate for the University of Wales Parliamentary constituency
University of Wales (UK Parliament constituency)
University of Wales was a university constituency electing one member to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1918 to 1950. It returned one Member of Parliament , elected under the first-past-the-post voting system....
.
By this time Lewis was in poor health despite being relatively young at 41 years old. He contested the election from a nursing home. He won the seat defeating two strong opponents. Former minister Sir Ellis Ellis-Griffith
Sir Ellis Ellis-Griffith, 1st Baronet
Sir Ellis Jones Ellis-Griffith, 1st Baronet PC KC , was a British barrister and Liberal politician.Born in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Ellis-Griffith was the son of Thomas Morris Griffith, a builder...
stood for the Liberals. The Labour candidate was Dr (later Dame) Olive Wheeler
Olive Wheeler
Professor Dame Olive Annie Wheeler, DBE , was a British educationist, psychologist and university lecturer, who later became Professor of Education at Cardiff University.-Early life:...
, a university lecturer in education who later became Professor of Education at Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
.
Death
Lewis died suddenly in London on 18 July 1923, aged 41. He had been in poor health and undergone operations in August 1922 and at Easter 1923 after leaving the nursing home where he had stayed in 1922,possibly leaving him susceptible to infection.