Ronw Moelwyn Hughes

Ronw Moelwyn Hughes (6 October 1897 – 1 November 1955), known as Moelwyn Hughes was a Welsh lawyer and a Liberal and Labour politician who was elected to two brief terms as a Member of Parliament (MP).

Born in Cardigan, Hughes was educated at the University of Cambridge, where he gained a First Class Honours degree in Law. His family moved to Birkenhead in 1917, and Hughes was elected there as a local councillor.

At the 1929 general election, he stood as a Liberal candidate in the safe Labour Party-held constituency of Rhondda West, losing heavily to the sitting Labour MP William John. After his experiences there, Hughes joined the Labour Party, and stood unuccessfully as the Labour candidate in the Cardiganshire constituency at the 1935 general election. [http://www.gtj.org.uk/en/filmitems/29139 Silent film footage] of his 1935 election campaign in Cardiganshire is available online at the Wellsh "Gathering the Jewels" website]

He was elected to the House of Commons at an unopposed by-election in 1941, as Member of Parliament for Carmarthen, following the resignation of Labour MP Major Daniel Hopkin MC. However, at the 1945 general election, he lost the seat by 1,279 votes to the Liberal candidate Rhys Hopkin Morris.

In March 1946, 33 people were killed and hundreds injured at the Burnden Park grounds of Bolton Wanderers football club, who were playing Stoke City in an FA Cup match. Hughes was appointed to lead the official inquiry into the disaster, and his report recommended limitations on crowd sizes. (An estimated 85,000 fans were present in a stadium with capacity for only 60,000).

Hughes returned to Parliament at the 1950 general election, when he was elected as (MP) for the safe Labour seat of Islington North, in North London. He represented the constituency for only one year, until he stepped down at the 1951 general election.

Family

Hughes was the son of Reverend John Gruffydd Moelwyn Hughes (1866-1944) and his wife Mya (née Lewis). A Presbyterian minister who became Moderator of the General Assembly in 1936, Rev Hughes was a lyrical poet, hymn writer, philosopher and a notable preacher. A pacifist and Liberal party supporter, he followed his son's switch in political allegiance to Labour.

Ronw's wife Louise Mary, eldest daughter of the Appeals Court judge Frederick Greer (Baron Fairfield), survived him on his death in 1955 at the age of 58. They had two sons and one daughter.

Notes

References

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* [http://www.liverpool-welsh.com/characters.htm Liverpool Welsh characters]
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