Alan John Williams
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The Right Honourable Alan Williams |
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|---|---|
| Father of the House | |
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In office 5 May 2005 – 6 May 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Sir Tam Dalyell |
| Succeeded by | Sir Peter Tapsell |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Wales | |
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In office 13 July 1987 – 9 January 1989 |
|
| Leader | Neil Kinnock |
| Preceded by | Barry Jones |
| Succeeded by | Barry Jones |
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Member of Parliament for Swansea West |
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In office 16 October 1964 – 12 April 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Hugh Rees |
| Succeeded by | Geraint Davies |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
14 October 1930 Caerphilly, Wales, UK |
| Died | 21 December 2014 (aged 84) London, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University College, Oxford |
Alan John Williams (14 October 1930 – 21 December 2014) was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Swansea West from 1964 to 2010. He was the longest serving MP for a Welsh constituency since David Lloyd George and built a reputation for his detailed scrutiny of the ways in which public money was spent.
Williams was born in Caerphilly, the son of Emlyn, a former miner who became a local government officer, and Violet (née Ross). He was educated at Cardiff High School for Boys (a state grammar school) then Cardiff College of Technology and Commerce when he gained a BSc in economics in 1954 (awarded by the University of London). At University College, Oxford, he studied PPE. He became an economics lecturer at the Welsh College of Advanced Technology then a broadcaster and journalist.
He unsuccessfully contested Poole in 1959, coming second to the Conservative incumbent Richard Pilkington. Shortly afterwards he was selected as the candidate for Swansea West which had been won by the Conservatives by a narrow majority of 403 votes. The constituency, containing the city centre, the university and the relatively prosperous western suburbs, had historically been a marginal one for Labour, in contrast to the more working-class Swansea East. Percy Morris, elected in the Labour landslide of 1945 had seen his majority cut to just over a thousand votes in 1955 before he was ousted by the Conservative Hugh Rees four years later. Williams recaptured the seat in 1964, and held it for nearly 46 years. However, it was never entirely safe, and Rees made two unsuccessful attempts to recapture the seat in 1966 and in 1970. Wiliams had a very tight contest at the 1979 election, in the wake of the "winter of discontent" and divisions in the Welsh Labour Party over devolution. He held on by only 401 votes – only two less than the Tory majority he had overturned in 1964. His majorities thereafter were more secure but the fact that the Liberal Democrats came close to winning the seat after his retirement in 2010 suggests that he had a substantial personal vote.
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