Harold Davies, Baron Davies of Leek, PC (31 July 1904 – 28 October 1985) was a British Labour Party politician. He was elected at the 1945 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, and held the seat until his defeat at the 1970 general election by the Conservative candidate David Knox. Davies was subsequently 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 28 September 1970, as Baron Davies of Leek, ''of

in the

County of Stafford Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south-east, the West Midlands cou ...

''.

Parliamentary career

Davies was elected in 1945 for his large north

seat that included a northern part of the

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

conurbation, partly employed in the increasingly uncompetitive basic clothes textiles manufacturing (see William Bromfield) but also, in the towns themselves, as today, also having major employment in the high quality, niche firms comprising the

Staffordshire Potteries The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Tunstall and Stoke (which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent) in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of c ...

. Amid all the change towards advanced machinery and engineering in the area, he managed to retain the seat during the

Third Churchill ministry Winston Churchill formed the third Churchill ministry in the United Kingdom following the 1951 United Kingdom general election, 1951 general election. He was reappointed as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King George VI and oversaw th ...

and its two conservative following ministries led by Eden and Macmillan. He was always associated with the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

of the party and was involved with the "Keep Left" and

Bevanite Bevanism was a movement on the left wing of the Labour Party in the late 1950s led by Aneurin Bevan which also included Richard Crossman, Michael Foot and Barbara Castle. Bevanism was opposed by the Gaitskellites, moderate social democrats wit ...

s. He was an assiduous local MP but his left wing views led to him being overlooked for Ministerial office during the Attlee governments (1945–51). He was

Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

from 1964 to 1966, and then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Social Security until 1967. Afterwards, he became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Prime Minister

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

between 1967 and 1970. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1969.

Vietnam War Talks envoy

Appointed to junior office by Harold Wilson, Davies made headlines when Wilson despatched him on a "secret" mission to

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. This was an attempt to broker talks between the North Vietnamese leader

Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...

and the Americans and their allies. Wilson's policy of support for the US was generally unpopular, and poorly supported within the Labour Party. But his stated commitment to the "special relationship" with the US, and the need for US economic support, meant that he continued to lend his government's support to the US policy of military involvement in Vietnam. Davies, left wing and anti-militaristic, lent an air of conviction to putting out peace feelers. But the mission went badly, with its secrecy blown before Davies emerged from his plane in Hanoi. The Americans were furious, UK diplomats embarrassed and angry and Ho Chi Minh refused to meet Davies, who had been made to look foolish. When in the Commons, Davies led the 40-strong group of members who spoke

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Harold 1904 births 1985 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Davies of Leek Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Wilson governments, 1964–1970 Parliamentary private secretaries to the prime minister 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 UK MPs who were granted peerages Life peers created by Elizabeth II