William Nathaniel Jones
Encyclopedia
William Nathaniel Jones was a Welsh Liberal
politician, businessman and soldier.
Jones who served as a Justice of the Peace
in Carmarthenshire
married Margaret Francis of Llandilo. In 1923 he was nominated as one of the Sheriffs of Carmarthenshire. In business, he was a director of the Ammanford Gas Company and the Duke Anthracite Collieries Ltd and the owner of Birchgrove Steelworks, Swansea
.
defected to the Conservatives
over the issue of land policy and the proposal by David Lloyd George
that some agricultural land be nationalised. The policy had been set out in the publication Land and the Nation or the Green Book in October 1925 but it caused great debate in the Liberal Party and another MP, Hilton Young, who sat for Norwich
also left the party for the Tories along with a couple of former MPs. Mond decided not to resign and fight a by-election but there was an election to choose a successor to him to stand as a Liberal at the next election. This was initially contested by six candidates but four withdrew and the choice was between Jones and Richard Thomas Evans
of Cardiff. Jones won in a close contest by 149 votes to 147, having made clear he was an opponent of the Green Book land policy whereas Evans, who had worked closely with Lloyd George on other Liberal policies, was in favour. Evans however was later become MP for Carmarthen, sitting from 1931-35. At the time of the by-election, and in other sources referring to him in 1882, Jones was described variously as Lieutenant-Colonel or Colonel Jones but no indication of his army history is available in those sources.
in 1928 and caused a by-election
in Carmarthen. At the previous general election in 1924
the Conservatives had not fielded a candidate and Mond had won easily in a straight fight with Labour
. However this time, they put up the barrister , Sir Courtenay Mansel, another escapee from the Liberal Party in 1926 who had been MP for Penryn and Falmouth
from 1922-23 but who had local connections in Carmarthenshire and was also a Justice of the Peace
there. The Labour candidate was the Welsh barrister (and future MP) Dan Hopkin. There was briefly the prospect of a four-cornered contest when the National Party of Wales
announced their intention to stand a candidate but in the end they decided not to fight. The by-election took place on 28 June 1928 and Jones emerged as the narrow winner. Jones had made his opposition to the land policy a feature of the campaign in an attempt to retain the support of the division’s farmers, many of whom shared Mond’s concern about the nationalisation proposals. In any event the Green Book had by this time been withdrawn as a full statement of Liberal land policy. Instead, Jones promoted as the main object of Liberal land policy the desire to give security of tenure to tenant farmers. Many of those reliant on the land for their livelihood seemed to prefer the less radical solution of the government of Stanley Baldwin
for the relief of rates on agricultural land.
Jones lost the seat to Dan Hopkin in another three-cornered fight. Evans regained it for the Liberals in 1931
but lost to Hopkin in 1935
. The seat returned to the Liberals in 1945
when it was won Sir Rhys Hopkin Morris
but was recaptured for Labour in 1957 at the by-election which was caused by Hopkin Morris’ death; the successful Labour candidate being Lady Megan Lloyd George
who had herself defected from Liberal to Labour.
on 24 May 1934. He died intestate, leaving an estate of gross value £75,950.
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, businessman and soldier.
Jones who served as a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
married Margaret Francis of Llandilo. In 1923 he was nominated as one of the Sheriffs of Carmarthenshire. In business, he was a director of the Ammanford Gas Company and the Duke Anthracite Collieries Ltd and the owner of Birchgrove Steelworks, 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...
.
Parliamentary candidate
In 1926, Sir Alfred Mond the Liberal MP for CarmarthenCarmarthen (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...
defected to the Conservatives
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...
over the issue of land policy and the proposal by David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
that some agricultural land be nationalised. The policy had been set out in the publication Land and the Nation or the Green Book in October 1925 but it caused great debate in the Liberal Party and another MP, Hilton Young, who sat for Norwich
Norwich (UK Parliament constituency)
Norwich was a borough constituency which was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1298 to 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 until it was abolished for the 1950 general election...
also left the party for the Tories along with a couple of former MPs. Mond decided not to resign and fight a by-election but there was an election to choose a successor to him to stand as a Liberal at the next election. This was initially contested by six candidates but four withdrew and the choice was between Jones and Richard Thomas Evans
Richard Thomas Evans
Richard Thomas Evans was a British Liberal Party politician.-Before Parliament:Evans was educated at the University of Wales. During the Great War he served in Europe and attained the rank of Captain. In 1918 he married Edith Rhys Williams. In 1923 he published the book Aspects of the Study of...
of Cardiff. Jones won in a close contest by 149 votes to 147, having made clear he was an opponent of the Green Book land policy whereas Evans, who had worked closely with Lloyd George on other Liberal policies, was in favour. Evans however was later become MP for Carmarthen, sitting from 1931-35. At the time of the by-election, and in other sources referring to him in 1882, Jones was described variously as Lieutenant-Colonel or Colonel Jones but no indication of his army history is available in those sources.
Carmarthen by-election, 1928
In the event Jones did not have to wait until the next general election as Mond accepted a peeragePeerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
in 1928 and caused 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 Carmarthen. At the previous general election in 1924
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
the Conservatives had not fielded a candidate and Mond had won easily in a straight fight with 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 this time, they put up the barrister , Sir Courtenay Mansel, another escapee from the Liberal Party in 1926 who had been MP for Penryn and Falmouth
Penryn and Falmouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Penryn and Falmouth was the name of a constituency in Cornwall represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until 1950. From 1832 to 1885 it was a parliamentary borough returning two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote system...
from 1922-23 but who had local connections in Carmarthenshire and was also a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
there. The Labour candidate was the Welsh barrister (and future MP) Dan Hopkin. There was briefly the prospect of a four-cornered contest when the National Party of Wales
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...
announced their intention to stand a candidate but in the end they decided not to fight. The by-election took place on 28 June 1928 and Jones emerged as the narrow winner. Jones had made his opposition to the land policy a feature of the campaign in an attempt to retain the support of the division’s farmers, many of whom shared Mond’s concern about the nationalisation proposals. In any event the Green Book had by this time been withdrawn as a full statement of Liberal land policy. Instead, Jones promoted as the main object of Liberal land policy the desire to give security of tenure to tenant farmers. Many of those reliant on the land for their livelihood seemed to prefer the less radical solution of the government of Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
for the relief of rates on agricultural land.
Polling
Polling day itself was affected by bad weather with heavy rain dampening the candidates’ enthusiasm on the day and, it was reported, having a detrimental effect on turnout. However the official figures showed a turnout of 76.6% an improvement over the previous general election when only 68% had turned out to vote. In the end, Jones had majority of just 47 votes over his Labour opponent, polling 10,201 to Hopkins’s 10,154 with Mansel for the Tories on 8,361. The drastic reduction in the size of the majority, even taking into account the fact that the Tories contested the seat, was a disappointment to the Liberals. Perhaps Liberal supporters felt they had been taken for granted by their party. Of their two previous MPs one had resigned to cause a by-election to find a seat for Sir Alfred Mond and then Mond himself had defected to the Tories without standing down to seek a mandate for his new party.Later elections
The by-election did presage a change in political fortunes in the constituency. At the 1929 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
Jones lost the seat to Dan Hopkin in another three-cornered fight. Evans regained it for the Liberals in 1931
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
but lost to Hopkin in 1935
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
. The seat returned to the Liberals 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...
when it was won Sir 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....
but was recaptured for Labour in 1957 at the by-election which was caused by Hopkin Morris’ death; the successful Labour candidate being Lady Megan Lloyd George
Megan Lloyd George
Lady Megan Arfon Lloyd George CH was a British politician, the first female Member of Parliament for a Welsh constituency, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. She later became a Labour MP....
who had herself defected from Liberal to Labour.
Death
Jones died suddenly at Llanwrtyd WellsLlanwrtyd Wells
Llanwrtyd Wells is a small town in the parish of Llanwrtyd in Powys, mid Wales, lying on the River Irfon.With a population of 601 people , it claims to be the smallest town in Britain, although Fordwich in Kent has a smaller population...
on 24 May 1934. He died intestate, leaving an estate of gross value £75,950.
Other sources
- Who was Who, OUP 2007
- Ammanford, Carmarthenshire web site - An Aberlash Millionaire at www.terrynorm.ic24.net An Aberlash Millionaire: The Rags To Riches Life of David Davies, Aberlash