Alan Williams

Infobox MP


honorific-prefix =The Right Honourable
name =Alan Williams
office = Father of the House
predecessor = Tam Dalyell
successor = Incumbent
term_start = 5 May 2005
term_end =
constituency_MP2 = Swansea West
parliament2 =
majority2 = 4,269 (12.9%)
predecessor2 = Hugh Rees
successor2 = Incumbent
term_start2 = 15 October 1964
term_end2 =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1930|10|14|df=yes
birth_place = Caerphilly
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
occupation =
profession =
religion =


website =
footnotes =

Alan John Williams (born 14 October 1930, Caerphilly) is a Welsh politician and Labour Member of Parliament for Swansea West since the 1964 general election.

Early life

He went to Cardiff High School for Boys (a grammar school) then Cardiff College of Technology and Commerce when he gained a BSc in [http://www2.uwic.ac.uk/UWIC/schools/business/SchoolStructure/Finance/ 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.

Parliamentary career

He contested Poole in 1959.

Williams served under Harold Wilson as Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs from 1967 until 1969 and then as a Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Technology until 1970 when Labour lost power. When Labour were returned to power at the February 1974 general election, Williams was made Minister of State at the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, serving until Wilson left office in 1976. The new Prime Minister, James Callaghan, then appointed him as Minister of State at the Department of Industry in which post her served until Labour left power in 1979.

Williams was made a Privy Counsellor in 1977. He has been on the backbenches since 1989, and chair of the Liaison Committee since 2001. [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmvote/11105v01.htm House of Commons Votes and Proceedings - 5th November 2001] ] He is a Eurosceptic and was opposed to the devolution settlement that established the National Assembly for Wales.

Father of the House

Following the retirement of Tam Dalyell at the 2005 general election, Williams became the MP with the longest continuous service in the House, earning him the title of Father of the House. [cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/M03.pdf|title=The Father of the House|publisher=House of Commons Information Office|format=PDF|month=November | year=2006|accessdate=2007-12-15] As a result he had the distinction of asking the very last question to Tony Blair at Prime Minister's Questions before he left office.

Williams is the last parliamentary survivor of those who were elected in Harold Wilson's 1964 election win. He has stated his intention to retire from Parliament at the next general election.

Personal life

He married (Mary) Patricia Rees in June 1957 in Bedwellty. They have two sons and a daughter.

References

External links

* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/0,9338,-1357,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Alan Williams MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/alan_williams/swansea_west TheyWorkForYou.com] - Alan Williams MP
* [http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/table/york/ Ministerial posts]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/566.stm BBC Politics]

News items

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4533153.stm Becomes Father of the House in 2005]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1624493.stm Remembrance service in October 2001]

Offices Held