Tom Ellis (politician)
Encyclopedia
Robert Thomas Ellis, commonly known as Tom Ellis, was a British
politician who was elected several times as a Labour
Member of Parliament
, and later defected to the Social Democratic Party
(SDP).
Ellis was born in Pant, Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire
and was educated at Ruabon Grammar School
. He entered the mining industry
, and in 1957 was appointed manager of the nearby Bersham colliery. He took further studies at the University of Wales
and the University of Nottingham
. He was a president of Wrexham
Fabian Society
.
Ellis first stood for Parliament without success in Flint West in 1966. Elected at the 1970 general election
as Labour
MP
for Wrexham
, he was re-elected in the February 1974
, October 1974
, and May 1979
elections. He also served as an indirectly elected Member of the European Parliament
from 1975-1979.
Ellis had grown increasingly disaffected with the leftward direction of the Labour Party by the beginning of the 1980s. He was one of the core handful of Jenkinsite
Labour MPs who were prepared to leave the Labour Party without the Gang of Three of David Owen
, Bill Rodgers, and Shirley Williams. In fact, he had even gone so far as seriously to contemplate joining the Liberals
. Ellis' disenchantment with the Labour Party was so great that he probably voted for Michael Foot
over Denis Healey
in Labour's 1980 leadership election in order to accelerate the disintegration of the Labour Party.
In 1981, Ellis became one of the founding members of the SDP
. Ellis was one of three Welsh MPs to join the new party (the others were Jeffrey Thomas
and Ednyfed Hudson Davies) and he was elected to serve as the President of Welsh Social Democrats. As a result of boundary changes, Ellis did not contest Wrexham in 1983 election
, instead he stood in the new constituency of Clwyd South West
which incorporated much of his old constituency. Ellis finished second to the Conservative
candidate Robert Harvey
by 1,551 votes in a competitive three-way race.
At the 1987 general election
, Ellis stood again in Clwyd South West, finishing a respectable third. After the merger of the SDP and the Liberals, he stood for the then Social and Liberal Democrats
at the 1989 Pontypridd by-election
, finishing a weak fourth behind the victor Kim Howells
.
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...
politician who was elected several times as a 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...
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,...
, and later defected to the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
(SDP).
Ellis was born in Pant, Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire
Denbighshire (historic)
Historic Denbighshire is one of thirteen traditional counties in Wales, a vice-county and a former administrative county, which covers an area in north east Wales...
and was educated at Ruabon Grammar School
Ruabon Grammar School
The Ruabon Grammar School was situated in Ruabon, Denbighshire in north-east Wales. It provided a grammar school education to boys in the parishes of Ruabon and Erbistock....
. He entered the mining industry
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
, and in 1957 was appointed manager of the nearby Bersham colliery. He took further studies at the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
and the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
. He was a president of Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
.
Ellis first stood for Parliament without success in Flint West in 1966. Elected at the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
as 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...
MP
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 Wrexham
Wrexham (UK Parliament constituency)
Wrexham is a parliamentary constituency in North Wales which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
, he was re-elected in the February 1974
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
, October 1974
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
, and May 1979
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
elections. He also served as an indirectly elected Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
from 1975-1979.
Ellis had grown increasingly disaffected with the leftward direction of the Labour Party by the beginning of the 1980s. He was one of the core handful of Jenkinsite
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
Labour MPs who were prepared to leave the Labour Party without the Gang of Three of David Owen
David Owen
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen CH PC FRCP is a British politician.Owen served as British Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979, the youngest person in over forty years to hold the post; he co-authored the failed Vance-Owen and Owen-Stoltenberg peace plans offered during the Bosnian War...
, Bill Rodgers, and Shirley Williams. In fact, he had even gone so far as seriously to contemplate joining the Liberals
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...
. Ellis' disenchantment with the Labour Party was so great that he probably voted for Michael Foot
Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
over Denis Healey
Denis Healey
Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...
in Labour's 1980 leadership election in order to accelerate the disintegration of the Labour Party.
In 1981, Ellis became one of the founding members of the SDP
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. Ellis was one of three Welsh MPs to join the new party (the others were Jeffrey Thomas
Jeffrey Thomas (politician)
Jeffrey Thomas, QC was a British politician.Thomas was educated at Abertillery Grammar School and King's College London, where he was president of the Students Union 1955-56. He was a barrister, called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1957, and was appointed Queen's Counsel.Thomas was elected as a...
and Ednyfed Hudson Davies) and he was elected to serve as the President of Welsh Social Democrats. As a result of boundary changes, Ellis did not contest Wrexham in 1983 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...
, instead he stood in the new constituency of Clwyd South West
Clwyd South West (UK Parliament constituency)
Clwyd South West was a county constituency in Clwyd, North Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system of election....
which incorporated much of his old constituency. Ellis finished second to the Conservative
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...
candidate Robert Harvey
Robert Harvey (UK politician)
Robert Lambart Harvey is a British Conservative Party politician, journalist and author.Robert Harvey has been foreign affairs leader writer for the Daily Telegraph, assistant editor of The Economist and a Member of Parliament...
by 1,551 votes in a competitive three-way race.
At the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
, Ellis stood again in Clwyd South West, finishing a respectable third. After the merger of the SDP and the Liberals, he stood for the then Social and Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
at the 1989 Pontypridd by-election
Pontypridd by-election, 1989
The Pontypridd by-election, 1989 was a by-election held in Wales on 23 February 1989 for the House of Commons constituency of Pontypridd in Mid Glamorgan....
, finishing a weak fourth behind the victor Kim Howells
Kim Howells
Kim Scott Howells is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Pontypridd from 1989 to 2010, and held a number of ministerial positions within the Government.-Biography:...
.