- Alan Williams
Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =The Right Honourable
name =Alan Williams
office =Father of the House
predecessor =Tam Dalyell
successor =Incumbent
term_start = 5 May 2005
term_end =
constituency_MP2 = Swansea West
parliament2 =
majority2 = 4,269 (12.9%)
predecessor2 =Hugh Rees
successor2 =Incumbent
term_start2 = 15 October 1964
term_end2 =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1930|10|14|df=yes
birth_place =Caerphilly
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =
party = Labour
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
occupation =
profession =
religion =
website =
footnotes =Alan John Williams (born 14 October 1930,
Caerphilly ) is a Welsh politician and LabourMember of Parliament for Swansea West since the 1964 general election.Early life
He went to Cardiff High School for Boys (a
grammar school ) then Cardiff College of Technology and Commerce when he gained a BSc in [http://www2.uwic.ac.uk/UWIC/schools/business/SchoolStructure/Finance/ Economics] in 1954 (awarded by theUniversity of London ). AtUniversity College, Oxford he studied PPE. He became an economics lecturer at the Welsh College of Advanced Technology then a broadcaster and journalist.Parliamentary career
He contested Poole in 1959.
Williams served under
Harold Wilson as Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs from 1967 until 1969 and then as a Parliamentary Secretary at theMinistry of Technology until 1970 when Labour lost power. When Labour were returned to power at the February 1974 general election, Williams was madeMinister of State at theDepartment of Prices and Consumer Protection , serving until Wilson left office in 1976. The newPrime Minister ,James Callaghan , then appointed him as Minister of State at theDepartment of Industry in which post her served until Labour left power in 1979.Williams was made a Privy Counsellor in 1977. He has been on the backbenches since 1989, and chair of the
Liaison Committee since 2001. [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmvote/11105v01.htm House of Commons Votes and Proceedings - 5th November 2001] ] He is aEurosceptic and was opposed to the devolution settlement that established theNational Assembly for Wales .Father of the House
Following the retirement of
Tam Dalyell at the 2005 general election, Williams became the MP with the longest continuous service in the House, earning him the title ofFather of the House . [cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/M03.pdf|title=The Father of the House|publisher=House of Commons Information Office|format=PDF|month=November | year=2006|accessdate=2007-12-15] As a result he had the distinction of asking the very last question toTony Blair atPrime Minister's Questions before he left office.Williams is the last parliamentary survivor of those who were elected in Harold Wilson's 1964 election win. He has stated his intention to retire from Parliament at the next general election.
Personal life
He married (Mary) Patricia Rees in June 1957 in
Bedwellty . They have two sons and a daughter.References
External links
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/0,9338,-1357,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Alan Williams MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/alan_williams/swansea_west TheyWorkForYou.com] - Alan Williams MP
* [http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/table/york/ Ministerial posts]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/566.stm BBC Politics]News items
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4533153.stm Becomes Father of the House in 2005]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1624493.stm Remembrance service in October 2001]Offices Held
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