Dafydd Wigley

Dafydd Wynne Wigley, Baron Wigley, PC (born David Wigley; 1 April 1943) is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon[1] from 1974 until 2001 and as Member of the Senedd for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was the leader of Plaid Cymru from 1981 to 1984 and again from 1991 to 2000. On 19 November 2010 it was announced that he had been granted a life peerage by the Queen,[2] and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Wigley, of Caernarfon on 24 January 2011.[3]

The Right Honourable The Lord Wigley PC
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 January 2011 Life Peerage
Member of the Senedd for Caernarfon
In office 6 May 1999 – 1 May 2003
Preceded by	Office Created
Succeeded by	Alun Ffred Jones
Member of Parliament for Caernarfon
In office 28 February 1974 – 14 May 2001
Preceded by	Goronwy Roberts
Succeeded by	Hywel Williams
Personal details
Born	(1943-04-01) 1 April 1943 Derby, England
Political party	Plaid Cymru
Spouse(s)	Elinor Bennett
Alma mater	Victoria University of Manchester

Early life

Wigley was born in Derby, England, the only child of Welsh parents Elfyn Edward Wigley and Myfanwy Batterbee. He attended Caernarfon grammar school and Rydal School before going on to the Victoria University of Manchester[4] and training as an accountant. He was employed by Hoover as a financial controller before entering parliament.

Political career

In May 1972 Wigley became a councillor on the pre-1974 Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, after a shock win in the Park ward, pushing the sitting Labour councillor into third place.[5]

UK Parliament

After coming second at Merioneth in the 1970 General Election, in 1974 Wigley became one of Plaid Cymru's first three MPs to be elected to the UK Parliament. He beat Dafydd Elis Thomas to be elected party president (leader) in 1981 following the retirnment of Gwynfor Evans, who had led Plaid Cymru since 1945.

The election for president was seen as instrumental in deciding the future direction of the Plaid Cymru. Wigley represented a moderate, pragmatic social-democracy, in sharp contrast with rival candidate Dafydd Elis Thomas's left-wing socialism. Wigley's triumph in 1981 was largely a pyrrhic victory - he won the presidency, but Elis Thomas would have a greater influence over the party's ideology throughout the 1980s. In 1984 Wigley resigned from the presidency because of his children's health, but returned to the job in 1991 for a second term after the resignation of Dafydd Elis Thomas. Wigley would go on to lead Plaid until 2000. He stood down as an MP at the 2001 General Election to concentrate on his role in the Assembly.[6]

National Assembly for Wales

In the 1999 National Assembly for Wales election Wigley became a member of the National Assembly for Wales, and led the Plaid Cymru opposition to Labour, before his resignation from the leadership, officially on medical advice but amid rumours of an internal plot against him in 2000. and in 2003 as an AM.

In 2006 he sought and secured nomination to Plaid Cymru's North Wales party list as the secondary candidate for the 2007 National Assembly for Wales election but, because in part of constituency seat gains, Plaid Cymru failed to gain a second regional seat.

House of Lords

He secured a Plaid Cymru nomination for a peerage alongside Eurfyl ap Gwilym and Janet Davies.[7] He initially withdrew his candidature after complaining how long the process was taking[8] but eventually received a peerage.

On 19 November 2010 it was announced that he had been granted a life peerage by the Queen,[9] and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Wigley, of Caernarfon in the County of Gwynedd on 24 January 2011,[10] supported by fellow Plaid Peer Lord Elis-Thomas and Richard Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Worcester.[11] He made his maiden speech on 27 January during a debate on tourism.[12]

Personal life

He married the international harpist Elinor Bennett. The couple had four children, son Hywel Wigley and daughter Eluned Wigley and two sons, Alun & Geraint, who died of a genetic illness. His sons' condition influenced the direction of his career, and he took a strong interest in the affairs of disabled people, being vice-chairman of the Parliamentary all-party disablement group, vice-president of Disability Wales, vice-president of Mencap (Wales), former president of the Spastics' Society of Wales and sponsor of the Disabled Persons Act in 1981. In 2003 Wigley became Pro-Chancellor of the University of Wales.[13][14]

Awards

In 2008, Wigley was awarded an Honorary Chair in Business at Bangor University.[15]

References

1. "Plaid peer Dafydd Wigley to champion disability rights". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
2. "Peerage for former Plaid Cymru leader Dafydd Wigley". bbc.co.uk. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
3. Rhys, Steffan. "Wigley plans to take up his seat in the Lords". walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
4. "Wigley accepts Plaid peerage call". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
5. "Labour sweep in with big gains". South Wales Echo. 5 May 1972. pp. 1, 6. The Welsh Nationalists... brought off a shock victory in the Park ward of Merthyr where Mr Eddie Rowlands, former chairman of the local Labour Party, was beaten into third place by Mr D. Wigley (Plaid) and Mr. Arthur Jones (Communist).
6. McAllister, L, Plaid Cymru: The Emergence of a Political Party, (2001), Seren
7. "Wigley's Lords appointment nearly three years after nomination". WalesOnline. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
8. "Dafydd Wigley withdraws Lords nomination". NorthWalesLive. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
9. "Peerage for former Plaid Cymru leader Dafydd Wigley". bbc.co.uk. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
10. "No. 26895". The Edinburgh Gazette. 25 June 2011. p. 147.
11. "Introduction: Lord Wigley". UK Parliament. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
12. "Tourism", UK Parliament, 27 January 2011, retrieved 3 June 2020
13. https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/university-honour-for-dafydd-wigley-2935409
14. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12259637
15. "Honouring Dafydd Wigley's contribution with Business Chair". Bangor University. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.

External links

• UK Parliament Profile
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Dafydd Wigley
• The Right Honourable Dafydd Wigley – University of Wales
• BBC News CV on Dafydd Wigley

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Goronwy Roberts	Member of Parliament for Caernarfon Feb. 1974 – 2001	Succeeded by Hywel Williams
Senedd Cymru
Preceded by (new post)	Member of the Senedd for Caernarfon 1999 – 2003	Succeeded by Alun Ffred Jones
Political offices
Preceded by Gwynfor Evans	President of Plaid Cymru 1981–1984	Succeeded by Dafydd Elis Thomas
Preceded by Dafydd Elis Thomas	President of Plaid Cymru 1991–2000	Succeeded by Ieuan Wyn Jones
Preceded by (new post)	Leader of Plaid Cymru in the Senedd 1999–2000	Succeeded by Ieuan Wyn Jones
Preceded by New post	Leader of the Opposition 1999–2000	Succeeded by Ieuan Wyn Jones
Preceded by Gwynfor Evans	Honorary President of Plaid Cymru 2005–	Succeeded by Incumbent
Academic offices
Preceded by Gareth Williams	Pro-Chancellor of the University of Wales 2003–2006	Succeeded by Barry Morgan
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by The Lord Dannatt	Gentlemen Baron Wigley	Followed by The Lord Collins of Highbury

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