Dafydd Wigley
Welsh politician (born 1943)
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Dafydd Wynne Wigley, Baron Wigley, PC (born David Wigley; 1 April 1943) is a Welsh politician who served as the leader of Plaid Cymru from 1981 to 1984 and again from 1991 to 2000. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Caernarfon from 1974 to 2001 and as the Member of the Welsh Assembly for Caernarfon from 1999 to 2003. In 2010, Wigley was granted life peerage, taking his seat in the House of Lords in 2011, making him one of the party's only two Lords in the HOL (alongside Carmen Smith, Baroness Smith of Llanfaes).
The Lord Wigley | |
|---|---|
Wigley in 2006 | |
| Leader of Plaid Cymru[a] | |
| In office 24 September 1991 – 3 August 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Dafydd Elis-Thomas |
| Succeeded by | Ieuan Wyn Jones |
| In office 1 November 1981 – 27 October 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Gwynfor Evans |
| Succeeded by | Dafydd Elis-Thomas |
| Member of the Welsh Assembly 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 |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Life peerage 19 January 2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Wigley 1 April 1943 |
| Party | Plaid Cymru |
| Spouse | Elinor Bennett |
| Education | Rydal School |
| 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.[1]
Before becoming a Plaid Cymru MP for Caernarfon, Wigley worked for Ford Motor Company, Mars and Hoover.[2]
Political career
In May 1972 Wigley became a councillor on the pre-1974 Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, winning in the Park, Merthyr Tydfil ward, with the sitting Labour councillor in third place.[3]
UK Parliament
Wigley was elected as a Plaid Cymru councillor for Merthyr Tydfil in 1972 and was then the MP for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001,[4] first elected at the February 1974 general election.
The election for president was seen as instrumental in deciding the future direction of Plaid Cymru. Wigley represented a moderate, pragmatic social democracy, in sharp contrast with rival candidate Dafydd Elis-Thomas's socialism. In 1981 Wigley won the presidency, but Elis Thomas had greater influence over the party's ideology throughout the 1980s. In 1984 Wigley resigned from the presidency because of his children's health, but he returned in 1991 for a second term after the resignation of Elis Thomas. Wigley led Plaid until 2000. He stood down as a Member of Parliament at the 2001 General Election to concentrate on his role in the Assembly.[5] Having served 27 years as an MP, Wigley is the longest-ever serving post-war MP from a nationalist party.
National Assembly for Wales
Wigley was the Assembly member for Caernarfon from 1999 to 2003.[4]
House of Lords
He secured a Plaid Cymru nomination for a peerage alongside Eurfyl ap Gwilym and Janet Davies.[6] He initially withdrew his candidature after complaining about how long the process was taking.[7]
On 19 November 2010 it was announced that he had been granted a life peerage by the Queen,[8] and he took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Wigley, of Caernarfon in the County of Gwynedd on 24 January 2011,[9] supported by fellow Plaid peer Lord Elis-Thomas and by Lord Faulkner of Worcester.[10] He made his maiden speech on 27 January during a debate on tourism.[11] Having been one of the first MPs to take the House of Commons oath of allegiance in the Welsh language in 1974, he took the oath of allegiance in Welsh on entering the Lords.[12]
In 2015, Wigley was accused of Holocaust trivialization for comparing the Trident base in Scotland to Auschwitz concentration camp. He later apologised for his remarks.[13]
In 2024, Wigley criticised the Senedd Reform Bill due to the introduction of a closed list PR system for elections to the Senedd.[14]
Personal life
He married the Welsh harpist Elinor Bennett. The couple had four children, son Hywel Wigley and daughter Eluned Wigley as well as two sons, Alun and 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.[15][16]
Awards
In 2008, Wigley was awarded an Honorary Chair in Business at Bangor University.[17]
Notes
- The Party leader was referred to as the president until March 2000 when the separate role of Leader was created
