George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy
Encyclopedia
Thomas George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy PC (29 January 1909 – 22 September 1997) was a British
Labour Party
politician and Speaker of the House of Commons
. Born in Port Talbot
, Wales
, he initially worked as a teacher in both London
and Cardiff
. An MP from 1945 to 1983, he held office in Harold Wilson
's 1964-1970 Labour administration
, notably as Secretary of State for Wales
from 1968 to 1970. As a junior minister at the Wales Office, he was one of the first on the scene of the Aberfan disaster in October 1966. In 1976 Thomas was elected Speaker of the House of Commons, in which role the first broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings brought him unprecedented public attention. He retired in 1983 and was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Tonypandy. He died unmarried in 1997.
, Wales
, the second son of Zachariah Thomas, a Welsh speaking miner from Carmarthen
, and Emma Jane Tilbury, daughter of a founder of the English Methodist Church in Tonypandy
. He had two elder sisters, Ada May and Dolly, one elder brother Emrys and one younger brother Ivor. His father became a heavy drinker and the family were happy when he joined up at the start of the First World War. They were less pleased when Emma had to take her marriage certificate to court to prove she was Zachariah's wife and not the woman in Kent to whom he had allocated his soldier allowance. He never returned to South Wales and died of tuberculosis in 1925.
Thomas was raised by his mother in the village of Trealaw
in South Wales
, just across the river from the town of Tonypandy
. All four of his siblings left school at age 13. His two sisters went into service, his elder brother went down the pit and his younger brother worked in a shop. This allowed George to extend his education, a good education at the time being the best means of escape from the valleys. He attended Trealaw Boys' School where he passed the scholarship examination for Tonypandy Higher Grade School, later promoted to Tonypandy Secondary Grammar School. On leaving school Thomas became a pupil teacher, first in Trealaw and then in Fanshawe Crescent School, Dagenham
, Essex
, after which he did a two-year teacher-training course at University College
, Southampton
. He then worked as a teacher in both London
and Cardiff
.
landslide at the 1945 general election
, Thomas held Cardiff Central
between 1945 and 1950 and Cardiff West
between 1950 and his retirement from the Commons at the 1983 general election
. When the Labour Party came to power under Harold Wilson
in 1964, Thomas was made joint Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department
, In April 1966 he was appointed Minister of State for Wales, and was one of the first on the scene of the Aberfan disaster in October 1966.
Thomas showed sympathy with the people of the village, bereaved and devastated by the calamity, where a coal tip, loosen by heavy rain, slid down a hillside and engulfed houses and a primary school. The disaster cost the lives of 144 people, 128 of them children at the Pantglas Junior School. However, while later serving as Secretary of State for Wales
, Thomas was involved in a decision by the Wilson Government to take £150,000 from a charity fund raised to help the victims of the disaster and their families to pay for the removal of other coal tips above the village.
(This money was paid back to the charity fund in 1997 by the newly-appointed Secretary of State for Wales
Ron Davies
, who was quoted as saying:
"It was a wrong perpetrated by a previous government - a Labour secretary of state. I regarded it as an embarrassment. It was a wrong that needed to be righted.")
In early 1967 he became Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs
. As Secretary of State for Wales
from 1968 to 1970 he presided over the investiture of the Prince of Wales
at Caernarfon Castle
in 1969. Thomas was fervently attached to the Royal Family and also strongly opposed to Plaid Cymru and particularly to the Welsh Language Society.
In 1974 Thomas was elected Chairman of Ways and Means
and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. Two years later he succeeded Selwyn Lloyd as Speaker of the House of Commons. The first broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings brought him unprecedented public attention, but he proved more impartial than party colleagues had expected. In 1983 he retired and was raised to the peerage as Viscount Tonypandy, of Rhondda in the County of Mid Glamorgan. Thomas' opposition to Welsh nationalism
was finally expressed in hostility to the Blair
government's devolution proposals of 1997. It was during this year that he also gave his very high-profile endorsement of Sir James Goldsmith's Referendum Party
, believing that the European Union
was compromising the sovereignty of Parliament. He also wrote the Foreword to Adrian Hilton
's book on this issue, The Principality and Power of Europe. Lord Tonypandy was later Chairman of the Bank of Wales
between 1985 and 1991.
, created a controversy by revealing that Thomas had been homosexual and had been the victim of blackmail
for this reason. Abse, the MP who introduced the private member's bill
which decriminalised homosexuality in Britain, discussed this incident in his book Tony Blair: The Man Behind the Smile. He said that Thomas had paid money to blackmailers to keep information related to his sexual life secret. Abse said that he had once lent Thomas £800 to pay off blackmailers.
Throughout his career he remained a deeply religious man, and was a prominent member of the Methodist
church. He was a local preacher and former Vice-President of the Methodist Conference. Known by the nickname "Tommy Twice" (from his full name), his Welsh-accented cries of "Order! Order!" as Speaker were familiar to a generation of Britons. Lord Tonypandy died in September 1997, when the viscountcy became extinct. He was portrayed by Gordon Langford Rowe in the 2002 BBC
production of Ian Curteis
's controversial The Falklands Play
.
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 and Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
. Born in Port Talbot
Port Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
, 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...
, he initially worked as a teacher in both London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. An MP from 1945 to 1983, he held office in Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
's 1964-1970 Labour administration
Labour Government 1964-1970
The Labour Government 1964–1970 was led by Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The Labour Party had won the 1964 general election by a majority of 4 seats. The Profumo affair had seriously damaged the previous Conservatives government, meaning Alec Douglas-Home's Premiership lasted only 363 days...
, notably as Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
from 1968 to 1970. As a junior minister at the Wales Office, he was one of the first on the scene of the Aberfan disaster in October 1966. In 1976 Thomas was elected Speaker of the House of Commons, in which role the first broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings brought him unprecedented public attention. He retired in 1983 and was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Tonypandy. He died unmarried in 1997.
Early life and education
Thomas was born in Port TalbotPort Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
, 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 second son of Zachariah Thomas, a Welsh speaking miner from Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
, and Emma Jane Tilbury, daughter of a founder of the English Methodist Church in Tonypandy
Tonypandy
Tonypandy is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, today Tonypandy is best known as the site of the Tonypandy Riots....
. He had two elder sisters, Ada May and Dolly, one elder brother Emrys and one younger brother Ivor. His father became a heavy drinker and the family were happy when he joined up at the start of the First World War. They were less pleased when Emma had to take her marriage certificate to court to prove she was Zachariah's wife and not the woman in Kent to whom he had allocated his soldier allowance. He never returned to South Wales and died of tuberculosis in 1925.
Thomas was raised by his mother in the village of Trealaw
Trealaw
Trealaw is the longest village in the Rhondda Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales.Trealaw stretches over two miles from the junction of Cemetery Road and Brithweunydd Road in the east, to the junction of Ynyscynon Road and Partridge Road to the northwest....
in South 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...
, just across the river from the town of Tonypandy
Tonypandy
Tonypandy is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, today Tonypandy is best known as the site of the Tonypandy Riots....
. All four of his siblings left school at age 13. His two sisters went into service, his elder brother went down the pit and his younger brother worked in a shop. This allowed George to extend his education, a good education at the time being the best means of escape from the valleys. He attended Trealaw Boys' School where he passed the scholarship examination for Tonypandy Higher Grade School, later promoted to Tonypandy Secondary Grammar School. On leaving school Thomas became a pupil teacher, first in Trealaw and then in Fanshawe Crescent School, Dagenham
Dagenham
Dagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, after which he did a two-year teacher-training course at University College
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. He then worked as a teacher in both London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
.
Political career
Elected to Parliament in the AttleeClement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
landslide at the 1945 general election
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...
, Thomas held Cardiff Central
Cardiff Central (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff Central is a borough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system....
between 1945 and 1950 and Cardiff West
Cardiff West (UK Parliament constituency)
Cardiff West is a borough constituency in the city of Cardiff. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system...
between 1950 and his retirement from the Commons at the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
. When the Labour Party came to power under Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
in 1964, Thomas was made joint 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...
, In April 1966 he was appointed Minister of State for Wales, and was one of the first on the scene of the Aberfan disaster in October 1966.
Thomas showed sympathy with the people of the village, bereaved and devastated by the calamity, where a coal tip, loosen by heavy rain, slid down a hillside and engulfed houses and a primary school. The disaster cost the lives of 144 people, 128 of them children at the Pantglas Junior School. However, while later serving as Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
, Thomas was involved in a decision by the Wilson Government to take £150,000 from a charity fund raised to help the victims of the disaster and their families to pay for the removal of other coal tips above the village.
(This money was paid back to the charity fund in 1997 by the newly-appointed Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
Ron Davies
Ron Davies
Ronald Davies is a Welsh politician, former Secretary of State for Wales, former Member of Parliament and former member of the Welsh Assembly...
, who was quoted as saying:
"It was a wrong perpetrated by a previous government - a Labour secretary of state. I regarded it as an embarrassment. It was a wrong that needed to be righted.")
In early 1967 he became Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs
Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs
The position of Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created in 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations and Minister of State for the Colonies. The position dealt with British relations with members of the Commonwealth of Nations...
. As Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
from 1968 to 1970 he presided over the investiture of the Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
at Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle is a medieval building in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. There was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283 when King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure...
in 1969. Thomas was fervently attached to the Royal Family and also strongly opposed to Plaid Cymru and particularly to the Welsh Language Society.
In 1974 Thomas was elected Chairman of Ways and Means
Chairman of Ways and Means
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of Ways and Means is a senior member of the House of Commons who acts as one of the Speaker's three deputies...
and Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. Two years later he succeeded Selwyn Lloyd as Speaker of the House of Commons. The first broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings brought him unprecedented public attention, but he proved more impartial than party colleagues had expected. In 1983 he retired and was raised to the peerage as Viscount Tonypandy, of Rhondda in the County of Mid Glamorgan. Thomas' opposition to Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which may include more Devolved powers for the Welsh Assembly or full independence from the United Kingdom.-Conquest:...
was finally expressed in hostility to the Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
government's devolution proposals of 1997. It was during this year that he also gave his very high-profile endorsement of Sir James Goldsmith's Referendum Party
Referendum Party
The Referendum Party was a Euro-sceptic, single issue party in the United Kingdom formed by Sir James Goldsmith to fight the 1997 General Election. The party called for a referendum on aspects of the UK's relationship with the European Union.-Policy:...
, believing that the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
was compromising the sovereignty of Parliament. He also wrote the Foreword to Adrian Hilton
Adrian Hilton
Adrian Hilton is an English Conservative politician who gained media attention during the 2005 general election.Hilton was acting assistant principal and faculty head at Slough Grammar School...
's book on this issue, The Principality and Power of Europe. Lord Tonypandy was later Chairman of the Bank of Wales
Bank of Wales
The Bank of Wales was a bank based in Cardiff, Wales, founded by Sir Julian Hodge in 1971. The company provided commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses in Wales....
between 1985 and 1991.
Personal life
After Lord Tonypandy's death, a former Welsh Labour MP, Leo AbseLeo Abse
Leopold Abse was a Welsh lawyer, politician and gay rights campaigner. He was a Welsh Labour Member of Parliament for nearly 30 years, and was noted for promoting private member's bills to decriminalise male homosexual relations and liberalise the divorce laws...
, created a controversy by revealing that Thomas had been homosexual and had been the victim of blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
for this reason. Abse, the MP who introduced the private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
which decriminalised homosexuality in Britain, discussed this incident in his book Tony Blair: The Man Behind the Smile. He said that Thomas had paid money to blackmailers to keep information related to his sexual life secret. Abse said that he had once lent Thomas £800 to pay off blackmailers.
Throughout his career he remained a deeply religious man, and was a prominent member of the Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
church. He was a local preacher and former Vice-President of the Methodist Conference. Known by the nickname "Tommy Twice" (from his full name), his Welsh-accented cries of "Order! Order!" as Speaker were familiar to a generation of Britons. Lord Tonypandy died in September 1997, when the viscountcy became extinct. He was portrayed by Gordon Langford Rowe in the 2002 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production of Ian Curteis
Ian Curteis
Ian Bayley Curteis is a British television dramatist and former television director.In a career as a television dramatist from the late 1960s onwards, Curteis wrote for many of the series of the day, including The Onedin Line and Crown Court. In 1979, two television plays by Curteis were...
's controversial The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play
The Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of...
.
