S. O. Davies

Stephen Owen Davies (c. 9 November 1886 [Davies was suspected of being considerably older than he claimed. There is no birth for a Stephen Owen Davies registered in the last quarter of 1886; however there is one in the last quarter of 1879.] – 25 February 1972) was a Welsh politician, and a member of the British House of Commons from 1934 to his death.

Born in Abercwmboi, he began work as a coal miner at the age of 12, combining mining work with study for a degree. Davies was educated at the University of Wales and the University of London. He was active as a trade unionist, and became vice-president of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain in 1933. He was a councillor on Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council and mayor in 1945-46.

In 1934 he was elected as a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for the Merthyr, which was renamed Merthyr Tydfil in 1950.

Davies was often out of step with the party line. Following the Aberfan disaster, he was a vocal critic of the way in which the government compensated the families of those killed.

In the run-up the 1970 general election his Constituency Labour Party felt that as he was now in his 80s he ought to stand down, and de-selected him in favour of a younger man. He fought the election as an independent Labour candidate, and won. In Parliament he maintained discreet links with the Parliamentary Labour Party and was sent a copy of the Labour whip, though he was nominally an independent. However he died in 1972 and the Labour Party won the subsequent by-election, although there was a significant swing to Plaid Cymru.

References

ee also

* List of UK minor party and independent MPs elected

Bibliography

*(2003 reprint), Iain Dale, "The Times House of Commons 1929, 1931, 1935", Politico's. ISBN 1-84275-033-X

External links

* [http://www.agor.org.uk/cwm/themes/people/s_o_davies.asp Article on Davies]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/vote_2005/wales/4526753.stm BBC article] , comparing his position with that of Peter Law in 2005.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/cymru/deddwyrain/media/s_o_davies_final?size=16x9&bbram=1&nbram=1&bbwm=1&nbwm=1&lang=cy BBC TV interview] ; S.O. Davies speaking in Welsh at the scene of the Aberfan disaster in 1966.