Welsh Liberal Democrats
Encyclopedia
The Welsh Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties of the federal
Liberal Democrats
and operate within Wales
, the others being the Scottish Liberal Democrats
and the Liberal Democrats in England
.
They are led by Kirsty Williams
AM, and hold 5 of 60 seats in the National Assembly for Wales
and 3 of 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, but none of four Welsh seats in the European Parliament
.
as their main ideology, as well as further devolved powers for the National Assembly for Wales
.
in 1897. This makes the Welsh Liberals the oldest of the political parties in Wales. It was the first to establish a truly Welsh identity. During the late nineteenth and early twientieth century the Welsh Liberals acted as the home for radical Welsh nationalism. Through politicians such as Tom Ellis
and David Gee and the movement of Cymru Fydd
(Wales to be) Welsh nationalism was comparable at times to that occurring in Ireland. Although in Wales the nationalist passion never spilled over into violence and was also counterbalanced by the strong English Liberal capitalist base present within the party. In 1906 the Welsh Liberals reached their peak when 35 of Wales 36 seats had MPs who took the Liberal whip. Up until 1922 the Welsh Liberal dominated Welsh politics and also played a central role in British politics. William Harcourt
, Reginald McKenna
, David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda, Sir Alfred Mond and David Lloyd George
were just a few of the politicians that held central positions in the party and the various Liberal led governments from 1906-1922. The various splits within the Liberal Party during from 1918 onwards, the rise of the Welsh Labour Party in South Wales and the dominance of Lloyd George over the Welsh Liberal party all had their impact on Welsh Liberal fortunes. Despite this it was in Wales that the pre-war Liberals support lasted longest in post war British politics.
(Anglesey) defected to the Conservative and Labour parties, respectively. Clement Davies
, who held Montgomeryshire became the post war British Liberal leader. Davies died in 1962 and was succeeded by Emlyn Hooson, who then set about rebuilding the Welsh Liberal Party. When the last of the post war Welsh Liberal MP - Roderic Bowen
(Cardiganshire) lost his seat in the 1966 general election Hooson, Lord Ogmore
, Martin Thomas
(Lord Thomas of Gresford), Roger Roberts (Lord Roberts of Llandudno) and Mary Murphy established the Welsh Liberal party as a separate state party within the Liberal Party's federal structure. After its establishment in September 1966 the Liberal Party in Wales had limited success and never really enjoyed the great Liberal revival that had occurred under Jo Grimond in Scotland. Geraint Howells election in Cardiganshire in February 1974 in Cardiganshire re-established the Liberal presence in that seat. In 1979, however, the Welsh Liberals suffered from the Lib-Lab pact and support for the failed devolution referendum resulted in a poor election for the Liberals with over half of the 28 seats it contested losing their deposit. More importantly Emlyn Hooson lost his Montgomeryshire seat leaving the Welsh party once more with one seat (Howells in Cardiganshire). Hooson would be ennobled later that year and join Howells once more at Westminster.
(SDP) in Wales gave the party an electoral boost, increased its representation on councils and helped retake the Montgomeryshire seat in 1983 (Alex Carlile) and win the Brecon and Radnor seat in a famous by-election in 1985 (Richard Livsey). In 1988 the SDP and Liberals merged in Wales and after various names the three Welsh MPs insisted on the name being Welsh Liberal Democrats, which set a precedent for the rest of the Liberal Party. In 1992 Howells lost his seat and went to the Lords, Livsey lost Brecon and Radnor, which he would retake again five years later. This left Alex Carlile as the sole Liberal Democrat MP. In 1996 Carlile announced his resignation and he was in turn replaced by Lembit Opik
. When Carlile stood down it ended the direct link with the professional Liberal barrister MPs that had been existent in the Welsh Liberal party for its whole history. Carlile became Lord Carlile of Berriew in 1999. Followed in 2001 by Richard Livsey (of Talgarth) and Roger Roberts (of Llandudno) in 2004.
, Roger Williams
and Rob Humphreys. With the exception of Humphrey's all of the others would soon gain electoral office either in the Welsh Assembly or Westminster Parliament. The Welsh Assembly elections in 1999 provided the party with six more elected representatives for Wales to join their two MPs, and three Welsh lords. At Westminster Roger Williams took over from Richard Livsey in Brecon and Radnor in 2001. In 2005 Mark Williams
won the Ceredigion seat (formerly held by Geraint Howells) and Jenny Willott
won the Cardiff Central seat. The later was the first Liberal urban seat victory in Wales since 1935 and the first female Liberal MP in Wales since 1951. These four MPs were also the highest since 1950 for the Liberal Party in Wales. It was Lembit Opik who now headed the party at Westminster.
In 1998 Michael German was elected as leader of the Welsh party. It was led who lead the new Assembly Group. Between 2001 and 2003, the party were in a coalition
with Welsh Labour Party in the National Assembly. In this Labour led government Michael German was Deputy Minister whilst Jenny Randerson also held a ministerial post. Randerson's post made her the first female Liberal in the party's history to hold ministerial office. The Welsh Liberal enjoyed a break through in local government in 2003, leading Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff and Wrexham councils, with cabinet members on many more Welsh councils. In the 2003 Welsh Assembly elections the party remained stuck on six (Assembly Members) AMs. They remained on this figure in the 2007 elections and were reduced to five in the 2011 elections. In 2008 German stood down as leader and was replaced by Kirsty Williams
(the AM for Brecon and Radnor) in a contest with Jenny Randerson (Cardiff Central). Both German and Randerson subsequently went to the House of Lords. Baroness Randerson become the first Welsh female Liberal peer ever to sit in the House of Lords. Her two predecessors Viscountess St Davids
and the 2nd Viscountess Rhondda
who had been ennobled in the earlier half of the twentieth century had died before women were allowed to sit in the House of Lords. Michael German was replaced as the South Wales East Assembly member by his wife Veronica German
. This was the first married couple of Welsh Liberals to be voted into legislative office, in the party's long history.
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
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...
and operate within 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 others being the Scottish Liberal Democrats
Scottish Liberal Democrats
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
and the Liberal Democrats in England
Liberal Democrats in England
The Liberal Democrats in England, informally known as the English Liberal Democrats, is the state party within the Liberal Democrats that operates in England. It is a federation of the eleven regional parties in England which are further divided into local parties...
.
They are led by Kirsty Williams
Kirsty Williams
Victoria Kirsty Williams is a British politician. She is the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Member of the Welsh Assembly for Brecon and Radnorshire.-Early life:...
AM, and hold 5 of 60 seats in the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
and 3 of 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, but none of four Welsh seats in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
Policy platform
The Welsh Liberal Democrats promote social liberalismSocial liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
as their main ideology, as well as further devolved powers for the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
.
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats
- Richard Livsey (1988–1992)
- Alex Carlile (1992–1997)
- Richard Livsey (1997–2001)
- Lembit ÖpikLembit ÖpikLembit Öpik is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2010 General Election...
(2001–2007) - Mike GermanMike GermanMichael James German, Baron German, OBE , usually known as Mike German, is a member of the House of Lords and former member of the National Assembly for Wales for the South Wales East Region. He was leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 2007–08...
(2007–2008) - Kirsty WilliamsKirsty WilliamsVictoria Kirsty Williams is a British politician. She is the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Member of the Welsh Assembly for Brecon and Radnorshire.-Early life:...
(2008–present)
Welsh Liberal Democrat Officers
- President of the Welsh Liberal Democrats: Christine HumphreysChristine HumphreysChristine Humphreys is the President of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and was Member of the Welsh Assembly for the North Wales regional constituency from 1999 to 2001. She was the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Wales on Economics and the Environment....
- Deputy President: Carole O'Toole
- Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats: Kirsty WilliamsKirsty WilliamsVictoria Kirsty Williams is a British politician. She is the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Member of the Welsh Assembly for Brecon and Radnorshire.-Early life:...
- Deputy Leader: Roger WilliamsRoger Williams (UK politician)Roger Hugh Williams is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire since the 2001 general election.-Early life:...
- Chair of the National Executive Committee: John Last
- Treasurer: Mark Stephens
- Federal Vice-President for Wales: John Last
- Welsh Returning Officer: Roger Burley
Welsh Liberal Democrat Committee Chairs
- Chair of the National Executive Committee: John Last
- Chair of the Finance & Management Committee: Mark Stephens
- Chair of the Campaigns & Candidates' Committee: Nick Tregoning
- Chair of the Policy Committee: Michael Woods
- Chair of the Conference Committee: Elgan Morgan
History before 1945
The Liberal Council for Wales was founded by David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
in 1897. This makes the Welsh Liberals the oldest of the political parties in Wales. It was the first to establish a truly Welsh identity. During the late nineteenth and early twientieth century the Welsh Liberals acted as the home for radical Welsh nationalism. Through politicians such as Tom Ellis
Tom Ellis (politician)
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 ....
and David Gee and the movement of Cymru Fydd
Cymru Fydd
The Cymru Fydd movement was founded in 1886 by some of the London Welsh, including J. E. Lloyd, O. M. Edwards, T. E. Ellis , Beriah Gwynfe Evans and Alfred Thomas. Initially it was a purely London-based society, later expanding to cities in England with a large Welsh population...
(Wales to be) Welsh nationalism was comparable at times to that occurring in Ireland. Although in Wales the nationalist passion never spilled over into violence and was also counterbalanced by the strong English Liberal capitalist base present within the party. In 1906 the Welsh Liberals reached their peak when 35 of Wales 36 seats had MPs who took the Liberal whip. Up until 1922 the Welsh Liberal dominated Welsh politics and also played a central role in British politics. William Harcourt
William Harcourt
William Harcourt may refer to:*William Vernon Harcourt *William Vernon Harcourt *William Harcourt , Catholic martyr, victim of the Titus Oates plot...
, Reginald McKenna
Reginald McKenna
Reginald McKenna was a British banker and Liberal politician. He notably served as Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer during the premiership of H. H. Asquith.-Background and education:...
, David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda, Sir Alfred Mond and David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
were just a few of the politicians that held central positions in the party and the various Liberal led governments from 1906-1922. The various splits within the Liberal Party during from 1918 onwards, the rise of the Welsh Labour Party in South Wales and the dominance of Lloyd George over the Welsh Liberal party all had their impact on Welsh Liberal fortunes. Despite this it was in Wales that the pre-war Liberals support lasted longest in post war British politics.
History 1945-1983
In 1945 the party had 7 MPs in Wales. Mainly in Welsh speaking north, mid and west Wales seats. Two of these MPs - Gwilym Lloyd George (Pembrokeshire) and Megan Lloyd GeorgeMegan 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....
(Anglesey) defected to the Conservative and Labour parties, respectively. Clement Davies
Clement Davies
Clement Edward Davies KC, MP was a Welsh politician and leader of the Liberal Party from 1945 to 1956.-Life:...
, who held Montgomeryshire became the post war British Liberal leader. Davies died in 1962 and was succeeded by Emlyn Hooson, who then set about rebuilding the Welsh Liberal Party. When the last of the post war Welsh Liberal MP - Roderic Bowen
Roderic Bowen
Evan Roderic Bowen KC was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.Bowen was educated at Cardigan County School, University College, Aberystwyth, St John's College, Cambridge, Brussels and the Inns of Court. He served in the Army for five years during World War II, reaching the rank of Captain...
(Cardiganshire) lost his seat in the 1966 general election Hooson, Lord Ogmore
David Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore
David Rees Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore, PC, TD was a Welsh politician.Rees-Williams was born in Bridgend, Wales. He qualified as a solicitor in 1929 and married and had three children...
, Martin Thomas
Martin Thomas
Martin Thomas is a British Historian.Thomas did both his undergraduate and doctoral studies at Oxford University, completing his D.Phil in 1991. He joined the history department at the University of the West of England, Bristol in 1992 before leaving to take up a post at the History Department of...
(Lord Thomas of Gresford), Roger Roberts (Lord Roberts of Llandudno) and Mary Murphy established the Welsh Liberal party as a separate state party within the Liberal Party's federal structure. After its establishment in September 1966 the Liberal Party in Wales had limited success and never really enjoyed the great Liberal revival that had occurred under Jo Grimond in Scotland. Geraint Howells election in Cardiganshire in February 1974 in Cardiganshire re-established the Liberal presence in that seat. In 1979, however, the Welsh Liberals suffered from the Lib-Lab pact and support for the failed devolution referendum resulted in a poor election for the Liberals with over half of the 28 seats it contested losing their deposit. More importantly Emlyn Hooson lost his Montgomeryshire seat leaving the Welsh party once more with one seat (Howells in Cardiganshire). Hooson would be ennobled later that year and join Howells once more at Westminster.
History 1983 - 1997
The arrival of the Social Democratic PartySocial 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) in Wales gave the party an electoral boost, increased its representation on councils and helped retake the Montgomeryshire seat in 1983 (Alex Carlile) and win the Brecon and Radnor seat in a famous by-election in 1985 (Richard Livsey). In 1988 the SDP and Liberals merged in Wales and after various names the three Welsh MPs insisted on the name being Welsh Liberal Democrats, which set a precedent for the rest of the Liberal Party. In 1992 Howells lost his seat and went to the Lords, Livsey lost Brecon and Radnor, which he would retake again five years later. This left Alex Carlile as the sole Liberal Democrat MP. In 1996 Carlile announced his resignation and he was in turn replaced by Lembit Opik
Lembit Öpik
Lembit Öpik is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat in the 2010 General Election...
. When Carlile stood down it ended the direct link with the professional Liberal barrister MPs that had been existent in the Welsh Liberal party for its whole history. Carlile became Lord Carlile of Berriew in 1999. Followed in 2001 by Richard Livsey (of Talgarth) and Roger Roberts (of Llandudno) in 2004.
History after 1997
In the 1997 general election both Opik and Livsey won their respective seats. Both then went forward to support the successful 1997 Welsh Assembly referendum. They were joined in this campaign by other prominent figures in the Welsh party including Michael German, Jenny Randerson, Peter BlackPeter Black (Welsh politician)
Peter Black is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician, and Member of the Welsh Assembly for the South Wales West Region.-Background:...
, Roger Williams
Roger Williams (UK politician)
Roger Hugh Williams is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire since the 2001 general election.-Early life:...
and Rob Humphreys. With the exception of Humphrey's all of the others would soon gain electoral office either in the Welsh Assembly or Westminster Parliament. The Welsh Assembly elections in 1999 provided the party with six more elected representatives for Wales to join their two MPs, and three Welsh lords. At Westminster Roger Williams took over from Richard Livsey in Brecon and Radnor in 2001. In 2005 Mark Williams
Mark Williams (politician)
Mark Fraser Williams is a British Welsh Liberal Democrat politician and the Member of Parliament for the Ceredigion constituency, a seat he gained from Plaid Cymru in 2005...
won the Ceredigion seat (formerly held by Geraint Howells) and Jenny Willott
Jenny Willott
Jennifer Nancy Willott is a British politician and the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cardiff Central since the 2005 general election. She is the first woman and the first Liberal Democrat to represent her seat....
won the Cardiff Central seat. The later was the first Liberal urban seat victory in Wales since 1935 and the first female Liberal MP in Wales since 1951. These four MPs were also the highest since 1950 for the Liberal Party in Wales. It was Lembit Opik who now headed the party at Westminster.
In 1998 Michael German was elected as leader of the Welsh party. It was led who lead the new Assembly Group. Between 2001 and 2003, the party were in a coalition
Lib-Lab pact
In British politics, a Lib-Lab pact is a working arrangement between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party.There have been four such arrangements, and one alleged proposal, at the national level...
with Welsh Labour Party in the National Assembly. In this Labour led government Michael German was Deputy Minister whilst Jenny Randerson also held a ministerial post. Randerson's post made her the first female Liberal in the party's history to hold ministerial office. The Welsh Liberal enjoyed a break through in local government in 2003, leading Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff and Wrexham councils, with cabinet members on many more Welsh councils. In the 2003 Welsh Assembly elections the party remained stuck on six (Assembly Members) AMs. They remained on this figure in the 2007 elections and were reduced to five in the 2011 elections. In 2008 German stood down as leader and was replaced by Kirsty Williams
Kirsty Williams
Victoria Kirsty Williams is a British politician. She is the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Member of the Welsh Assembly for Brecon and Radnorshire.-Early life:...
(the AM for Brecon and Radnor) in a contest with Jenny Randerson (Cardiff Central). Both German and Randerson subsequently went to the House of Lords. Baroness Randerson become the first Welsh female Liberal peer ever to sit in the House of Lords. Her two predecessors Viscountess St Davids
Elizabeth Philipps, Viscountess St Davids
Elizabeth Frances Philipps, Viscountess St Davids was a British peeress.She was the second daughter and coheiress of Hon...
and the 2nd Viscountess Rhondda
Margaret Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda
Margaret Haig Mackworth, 2nd Viscountess Rhondda was a Welsh peeress and active suffragette.In 1908 she joined the Women's Social and Political Union , and became secretary of the WSPU's Newport branch...
who had been ennobled in the earlier half of the twentieth century had died before women were allowed to sit in the House of Lords. Michael German was replaced as the South Wales East Assembly member by his wife Veronica German
Veronica German
Veronica German is a Liberal Democrat politician and a former member of the National Assembly of Wales. She was a list member for South Wales East between 2010 and 2011.-Background:...
. This was the first married couple of Welsh Liberals to be voted into legislative office, in the party's long history.