Peter Law
| Peter Law | |
|---|---|
 |
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Member of Parliament for Blaenau Gwent |
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In office 5 May 2005 – 25 April 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Llew Smith |
| Succeeded by | Dai Davies |
| Minister for Local Government and Regeneration | |
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In office 6 May 1999 – 17 June 2000 |
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| First Minister | Alun Michael |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Edwina Hart |
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Member of the Welsh Assembly for Blaenau Gwent |
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In office 6 May 1999 – 25 April 2006 |
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| Preceded by | New Assembly |
| Succeeded by | Trish Law |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1 April 1948 Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales |
| Died | 25 April 2006 (aged 58) Nantyglo, Gwent, Wales |
| Political party |
Blaenau Gwent People's Voice (2005-2006) Independent (2005) Labour Co-operative (before 2005) |
| Spouse(s) | Trish Law |
Peter John Law (1 April 1948 – 25 April 2006) was a Welsh politician.
For most of his career Law sat as a Labour Councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly Member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent. Latterly he sat as an independent Member of Parliament (MP) and AM for the same constituency.
Born in Abergavenny, Law ran a General Store and became a councillor in Blaenau Gwent in 1974. He was subsequently appointed chair of Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust.
He was latterly a close ally of Llew Smith, MP for Blaenau Gwent from 1992, and was selected for the constituency in the first elections to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, winning the seat easily. He was appointed to the cabinet of Alun Michael as Assembly Secretary for Local Government and Housing, but lost his post in a cabinet reshuffle in 2000 by successor First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan.
When Morgan formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, Peter Law made no secret of his opposition to the decision and was not retained in the administration. He became a vociferous backbench critic and following the 2003 election stood as candidate for the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Welsh Assembly. However, the Labour AMs voted instead for John Marek who was an Independent AM, thereby ensuring that an opposition member was in the Chair and unable to vote against the Welsh Assembly Government.
Law left the Labour Party in protest at the use of an all-woman shortlist in selecting the candidate for the general election, which was used to replace the retiring Llew Smith. Law believed all-woman shortlists were being selectively imposed on local parties only where a leadership supported male candidate was unlikely to be selected, citing the example of Ed Balls and Pat McFadden as new leadership-supported male candidates, and noting that use of all-woman shortlists had been stopped in Scotland.
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