Dafydd Elystan Elystan-Morgan, Baron Elystan-Morgan (7 December 1932 – 7 July 2021), known as Elystan Morgan, was a Welsh politician. He sat as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from 1981 to 2020, and served as a Labour MP from 1966 to 1974.

Early life

Born in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

, Morgan was educated at Ardwyn

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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

, and became a member of

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

as a schoolboy in 1946. He studied law at the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

, where he was involved with student politics and served as president of the debating union. He qualified as a solicitor and joined a legal firm in

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

Political career

Early in 1955, Morgan was adopted as Plaid Cymru candidate for the Wrexham constituency and contested the seat at the by-election in 1955, and at the general elections in 1955 and in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

. In 1964 he was selected to succeed the party president

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 ...

as candidate for

Merioneth Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is an anglicisation of the Welsh placename ''Mei ...

. Morgan instead joined the Labour Party and was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

, Wales, at the 1966 general election, and served as a

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry (government department), ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is desi ...

from 1968 to 1970, as Under-Secretary at the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

. He was chairman of the Welsh

Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...

between 1971 and 1974. In the February 1974 general election, Morgan lost his seat to Liberal candidate Geraint Howells. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, he sought election as Labour candidate for

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, following the retirement of

Cledwyn Hughes Cledwyn Hughes, Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos, (14 September 1916 – 22 February 2001) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, usually associated with the moderate wing of the party. He was also regarded, particularly in later years, as a non-politic ...

, but was defeated by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate Keith Best. Following his defeat, he largely withdrew from political life and concentrated on his legal career. He was admitted to

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1971, entitled to practise as a barrister. He was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 27 May 1981, with the title Baron Elystan-Morgan, of Aberteifi in the County of Dyfed. He held the office of Recorder between 1983 and 1987. Morgan held the office of Circuit Judge between 1987 and 2003. He did, however, return to politics after his retirement in 2006. He was President of the

Aberystwyth Old Students' Association Aberystwyth Old Students' Association (), founded in 1892, is Aberystwyth University's alumni association and is one of the oldest such associations in the United Kingdom. It currently has more than 10,000 Members and 100,000 Associate Members w ...

in 1995–96. He retired from the House of Lords on 12 February 2020.

Political positions

Welsh devolution

Morgan campaigned heavily for

Welsh devolution Welsh devolution is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, transfer of legislative powers for self-governance to Wales by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The current system of devolution began following the enactment of the Government of Wa ...

, as he believed that Wales should not legally be seen as a part of England. He believed that Cardiff should have all major governing powers over Wales, save for a few, such as the ability to go to war.

Blasphemy laws

On 6 March 2007, Morgan supported the abolition of the blasphemy law in the UK, quoting

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...

's description of God as "a petty, unjust, unforgiving

control freak Control freak is a colloquialism for a person who feels a psychological need to constantly be in charge of things and people around them. A control freak can become distressed when they feel things are going out of control. The feel of the need ...

; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully". A

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the

Presbyterian Church of Wales The Presbyterian Church of Wales (), also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales. The Calvinistic Methodist movement has its origins in the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival ...

at Capel-y-Garn in Pen-y-garn, he was making the point that God did not need the protection of the law.

Gay rights

Morgan is recorded as having voted against the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, although in 1982 he claimed that he had actually abstained. It's possible that Morgan's supposed votes against decriminalisation had been mistakenly added as the result of a clerical error, or alternatively that he was misremembering which way he had voted. Morgan later supported proposals to expand gay rights, such as the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 and the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013.

Personal life

In 1959, Morgan married Alwen Roberts. They had two children, a daughter called Eleri (born 1960) and a son, Owain (born 1962). Lady Elystan-Morgan died on the 19th of December 2006. Morgan died in

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

on 7 July 2021 at the age of 88.

Works

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Elystan 1932 births 2021 deaths Alumni of Aberystwyth University Crossbench life peers Labour Party (UK) life peers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Ceredigion Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Ordained peers People educated at Ardwyn School, Aberystwyth People from Aberystwyth Aberystwyth Old Students' Association Plaid Cymru parliamentary candidates UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 Welsh Labour MPs Welsh Presbyterians Life peers created by Elizabeth II Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014