Rhys Davies (politician)
Encyclopedia
Rhys John Davies was a British
trade union
ist and Labour Party
politician.
Davies was born in Llangennech
, Carmarthenshire
, Wales
, the son of Rhys and Ann Davies. After an elementary education he initially worked as a farm labourer. He subsequently moved to the Rhondda Valley
, where he worked as a coalminer for ten years. From an early age he was involved in the local co-operative society and became a union official organising shop-assistants throughout South Wales
. This led to his moving to Manchester
, to take up a post with the Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees and later the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers.
He was a member of Manchester City Council
for thirty years, and also president of the Manchester and Salford Trades Council and of the Withington
Divisional Parliamentary Labour Party.
In 1921 W T Wilson
, Labour Member of Parliament
(MP) for Westhoughton
, died, and Davies was elected at a by-election to succeed him. He served in the first Labour Government
in 1924 as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
. This was the only government office he held.
He retained the Westhoughton seat through successive elections until he retired from the House of Commons early in 1951 due to ill health. At the time he was the longest-serving Labour MP.
Davies was a strong supporter of the temperance
and pacifist movements, whose causes he advocated in Parliament and in the country. He was also a committed parliamentarian, and served as joint secretary of the British group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He married Margaret Griffiths in 1902, and they had three sons. R J Davies died at his home in Porthcawl
, Glamorgan
, in 1954, aged 77.
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...
trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist and 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.
Davies was born in Llangennech
Llangennech
Llangennech is a village in the area of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, West Wales, United Kingdom.It is governed by Carmarthenshire County Council and Llanelli Rural council. It falls in the Llanelli parliament Constituency. Llangennech is also the name of an electoral ward coterminous with the village...
, 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...
, Wales
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...
, the son of Rhys and Ann Davies. After an elementary education he initially worked as a farm labourer. He subsequently moved to the Rhondda Valley
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
, where he worked as a coalminer for ten years. From an early age he was involved in the local co-operative society and became a union official organising shop-assistants throughout South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. This led to his moving to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, to take up a post with the Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees and later the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers.
He was a member of Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
for thirty years, and also president of the Manchester and Salford Trades Council and of the Withington
Withington
Withington is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury, and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near the centre-to-south edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area; in the...
Divisional Parliamentary Labour Party.
In 1921 W T Wilson
William Tyson Wilson
William Tyson Wilson was a British trade unionist and Labour politician.Tyson was born in Westmorland, moving to Bolton, Lancashire, in 1889. He was a carpenter, and joined the Bolton branch of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners...
, Labour 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,...
(MP) for Westhoughton
Westhoughton (UK Parliament constituency)
Westhoughton was a parliamentary constituency in Lancashire, England. Centred on the former mining and cotton town of Westhoughton, it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, died, and Davies was elected at a by-election to succeed him. He served in the first Labour Government
First Labour Government
The First Labour Government of the United Kingdom lasted from January to November 1924. The Labour Party, under James Ramsay MacDonald, had failed to win the general election of December 1923, with 191 seats, although the combined Opposition tally exceeded that of the Conservative government...
in 1924 as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
-Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782-present:*April 1782: Evan Nepean*April 1782: Thomas Orde*July 1782: Henry Strachey*April 1783: George North*February 1784: Hon. John Townshend*June 1789: Scrope Bernard*July 1794: The Hon...
. This was the only government office he held.
He retained the Westhoughton seat through successive elections until he retired from the House of Commons early in 1951 due to ill health. At the time he was the longest-serving Labour MP.
Davies was a strong supporter of the temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
and pacifist movements, whose causes he advocated in Parliament and in the country. He was also a committed parliamentarian, and served as joint secretary of the British group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He married Margaret Griffiths in 1902, and they had three sons. R J Davies died at his home in Porthcawl
Porthcawl
Porthcawl is a town on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, 25 miles west of the capital city, Cardiff and 19 miles southeast of Swansea...
, 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...
, in 1954, aged 77.