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Emrys Daniel Hughes (10 July 1894 – 18 October 1969) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, journalist and author. He was Labour MP for
South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June 2 ...
in Scotland from 1946 to 1969. Among his many published books was a biography of his father-in-law,
Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire ...
.


Life

Hughes was born in
Tonypandy Tonypandy is a town, community and electoral ward located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, the town was ...
, Wales, the son of the Reverend J. R. Hughes, a Calvinistic Methodist minister, and his wife Annie. He was educated at
Abercynon Abercynon (), is both a village and a community (and electoral ward) in the Cynon Valley within the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The community comprises the village and the districts of Carnetown and Grovers Field to the south, ...
Council School,
Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * '' Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mounta ...
Secondary School and City of
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
Training College. While working as a teacher and journalist in the Rhondda, he became a strong supporter of the Labour Party and of Keir Hardie, the Labour MP for Merthyr Tydfil. Hughes was, like Hardie, a
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campai ...
. He opposed the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and was imprisoned as a
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
. In the 1923 General Election, Hughes was the unsuccessful Labour candidate for Bosworth, Leicestershire, a constituency which combined coal-mining communities and a substantial agricultural tradition. From 1924 to 1948, Hughes edited the Scottish socialist journal '' Forward''. In the late 1930s, ''Forward'' was one of the few British left-wing publications to criticise the
Moscow Trials The Moscow trials were a series of show trials held by the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1938 at the instigation of Joseph Stalin. They were nominally directed against "Trotskyists" and members of " Right Opposition" of the Communist Party of th ...
. Hughes' pacifist position in World War II was reflected in '' Forward'': for the duration of the war he wrote most of the paper's articles. In 1924, Hughes married Nan Hardie (1885–1947),
Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire ...
's daughter. Hughes and Nan Hardie shared the same political philosophy and ideals. As Labour councillors on the town council in
Cumnock Cumnock (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cumnag'') is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie just ...
, South Ayrshire, they worked together for
slum clearance Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...
and the provision of council housing. Both were provost of the council. After Nan's death, Hughes married in 1949 Martha Cleland, daughter of P.M. Cleland, a Glasgow schoolmaster. Hughes was first elected to Parliament on at by-election on 7 February 1946 for
South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June 2 ...
caused by the death of Alexander Sloan, the sitting Labour MP. Hughes was re-elected in the general elections of 1950, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1964, and 1966. As a left-winger and pacifist, Hughes was a frequent rebel against the party's leadership. He twice had the
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...
withdrawn, between November 1954 and April 1955 (over German rearmament), and between March 1961 and May 1963 (over nuclear weapons). His Constituency Labour Party always supported him in his clashes with the leadership. In 1952, Hughes caused further controversy by calling for a reduction of the
civil list A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom and its former colonies of Canada, India, New Zeal ...
payments to the British Royal Family. During the debate, Hughes identified himself as an anti-monarchist and "a republican, like
President Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
". On 14 July 1966,
Gwynfor Evans Gwynfor Richard Evans (1 September 1912 – 21 April 2005) was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. He was President of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru for thirty-six years and was the first Member of Parliament to represent it at West ...
(
Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid was ...
) won
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , " Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
from Labour in a by-election. Emrys Hughes was "one of the few to extend the hand of friendship". Hughes supported in the House of Commons Gwynfor Evans' right to take the oath in the Welsh language. When Winifred Ewing of the SNP won the Hamilton by-election from Labour in 1967, Hughes was similarly welcoming. Hughes died on 18 October 1969, while still an MP. His papers were deposited at the National Library of Scotland.The National Library of Scotland also holds th
Keir Hardie/Emrys Hughes Collection
of posters, leaflets and book relating to left-wing politics and the Labour Party in the early 20th century.


Selected works

* ''
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
. British Bulldog: His Career in War and Peace'', Exposition Books, 1955. ASIN:B0006ATSO8 (first published in 1950) * ''Keir Hardie'',
Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...
, 1956. ASIN:B0006DBKFK * ''Emrys Hughes, M.P. on POLARIS and the ARMS RACE'', Housmans, 1961. ASIN:B003Z94NXI * ''
Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as " Supermac", h ...
: Portrait of a Politician'',
Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...
, 1962. * ''
Sir Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...
. Modern Conservative'', Housmans, 1964. ASIN: B002A6S6OE * ''
Sydney Silverman Samuel Sydney Silverman (8 October 1895 – 9 February 1968) was a British Labour politician and vocal opponent of capital punishment. Early life Silverman was born in poverty to a migrant Jewish parents from Jassy, Romania. His father was a ...
– Rebel in Parliament'', C Skilton, 1969. ASIN:B001KIB9T2


See also

*
List of peace activists This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usually work w ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Emrys 1894 births 1969 deaths Welsh conscientious objectors British conscientious objectors British republicans Welsh politicians Scottish Labour MPs UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 Welsh socialists Welsh pacifists People from Tonypandy