Roger Thomas (British politician)
Roger Gareth Thomas (14 November 1925 – 4 September 1994) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament.[1]
Biography
He was born at
He joined the Labour Party in 1970, securing election as the Labour member for the Saron ward on the Dyfed County Council where he served from 1977 until 1979.
In 1979, Thomas was elected
He was one of the few Labour MPs to represent a predominantly rural area and concentrated on agriculture and EEC issues.[2] Although mildly supportive of devolution, Thomas was opposed to what he regarded as the excesses of Welsh nationalism. In 1980 he complained about a perceived bias towards Plaid Cymru in Welsh-language television programmes, a complaint that was not upheld.[3]
On 30 January 1984 Thomas was convicted at Gowerton Magistrates' Court, Swansea, of importuning for immoral purposes at a men's public lavatory (he was fined £75). The case was reported and attracted negative publicity for Thomas, who announced to Carmarthen Constituency Labour Party on 2 March that he would resign his seat. He subsequently delayed his resignation, after pressure from within the party.[4]
In the meantime, Thomas continued his Parliamentary activity and remained one of the most active Welsh MPs of all. He also received a good deal of sympathy on his plight, and times had moved on since
The selection of a new Labour Candidate for the constituency in 1985 proved acrimonious, Thomas' preferred candidate was a London-based trade union official and London Borough of Bromley Councillor, Ira Walters. Walters, a Gorseinon-born Welsh Speaker was, at 23, the youngest candidate in the 1983 general election, contesting the Conwy Constituency. In the 1985 selection, he acquired the majority of branch nominations in the Constituency, largely from the eastern, industrialised areas of the Constituency. His was a controversial nomination given that he was a Political Assistant to Eric Hammond, General Secretary of the Electricians' Trade Union, which was at odds with the majority of trade union views on the major industrial disputes at that time. Walters, despite being the favourite to gain the nomination, lost to the local Trinity College lecturer, Alan Williams, who went on to win the seat in the subsequent general election.
Thomas duly retired from Parliament at the dissolution in 1987. He was married, 1958, to Margaret Indeg Thomas, the daughter of a minister with the Welsh Independents. They had one son and one daughter. They lived at Ffynnon Wen, Capel Hendre, Ammanford. Roger Thomas died on 4 September 1994 and was cremated at Swansea Crematorium.
References
- ^ Heath, Tony (6 September 1994). "Obituary: Roger Thomas". The Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ Reed Business Information (17 April 1980). New Scientist. Reed Business Information. p. 162.
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has generic name (help) - ^ Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons (1980). Papers by command. HMSO. p. 216.
- ^ The Spectator. July 1984. p. 7.
- ^ Matthew Parris and Kevin Maguire Great Parliamentary Scandals, Robson Books, 1995 [2004], p266, 263
- Times Guide to the House of Commons 1983
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)