William Henry Edwards (6 January 1938 – 16 August 2007), also known as "Will Edwards", was a British

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician. Edwards was born in Amlwch,

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. His father Henry.O.Edwards was a

tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...

and his mother was a seamstress. He was educated at the local

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

and at Sir Thomas Jones'

Comprehensive School A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

. He read Law at Liverpool University and studied at London College of Law. He became a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

Bala Bala may refer to: Places India *Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India * Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan * Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Romania * Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...

and a visiting lecturer at Liverpool College of Commerce. He married Eleri Rogers in 1962. Edwards contested West Flintshire in the

1964 general election The following elections occurred in 1964. Africa * 1964 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1964 Central African Republic parliamentary election * 1964 Central African Republic presidential election * 1964 Dahomeyan general election * 1964 Gabo ...

. He became

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Merioneth at the 1966 general election, and became

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the Secretary of State for Wales, Cledwyn Hughes. He increased his majority in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

despite a strong challenge by future Plaid Cymru leader Dafydd Wigley. He became a front-bench spokesman on Welsh affairs, in a team headed by George Thomas, but was sacked in 1972 over his support for entry into the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

. He lost his seat in the February 1974 general election to Plaid Cymru's

Dafydd Elis Thomas Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas (born 18 October 1946) is a Welsh politician who served as the Leader of Plaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the Senedd from 1999 to 2021. Born in Carmar ...

, and was unable to regain the seat in the general election that quickly followed that October. He was then appointed to lead Labour's campaign in Wales for a "yes" vote in the referendum to remain in the EEC. In 1981, he was selected to fight Ynys Môn, but withdrew in March 1983, shortly before the 1983 general election, in protest at Labour's policies of withdrawal from the EEC,

unilateral nuclear disarmament __NOTOC__ Unilateralism is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Such action may be in disregard for other parties, or as an expression of a commitment toward a direction which other parties may find disagreeable. As a word, ''un ...

, and closure of US military bases in the UK. He was a member of the

Historic Buildings Council for Wales Three separate historic buildings councils were created by the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953, one for each of England, Scotland, and Wales. Each Historic Buildings Council advised the relevant government minister on the exercise ...

from 1971 to 1976, and began to edit ''The Solicitor's Diary'' for Waterlow's in 1973. In 1987, a

Law Society A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated ...

tribunal struck him off the roll of solicitors infringing the solicitors' accounts rules, and improper use of clients' funds. In later life, he suffered from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

. He died in the Wrexham Maelor Hospital. He was survived by his wife and their son and three daughters.

References

*''

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. The ...

'', 1966 & October 1974 *
Former MP Will Edwards dies at 69, BBC News, 17 August 2007Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 24 August 2007Obituary, ''The Independent'', 28 August 2007

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, William 1938 births 2007 deaths People from Amlwch Alumni of the University of Liverpool Welsh lawyers Welsh Labour Party MPs UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 20th-century Welsh lawyers