Emrys Hughes


Emrys Daniel Hughes was a Welsh Labour politician, journalist and author. He was Labour MP for South Ayrshire in Scotland from 1946 to 1969. Among his many published books was a biography of his father-in-law, Keir Hardie.

Life

Hughes was born in Tonypandy, Wales, the son of the Reverend J. R. Hughes, a Calvinistic Methodist minister, and his wife Annie. He was educated at Abercynon Council School, Mountain Ash Secondary School and City of Leeds Training College. While working as a teacher and journalist in the Rhondda, he became a strong supporter of the Labour Party and of Keir Hardie, the Labour MP for Merthyr Tydfil.
Hughes was, like Hardie, a pacifist. He opposed the First World War and was imprisoned as a conscientious objector.
In the 1923 General Election, Hughes was the unsuccessful Labour candidate for Bosworth, Leicestershire, a constituency which combined coal-mining communities and a substantial agricultural tradition.
From 1924 to 1948, Hughes edited the Scottish socialist journal Forward. In the late 1930s, Forward was one of the few British left-wing publications to criticise the Moscow Trials. Hughes' pacifist position in World War II was reflected in Forward: for the duration of the war he wrote most of the paper's articles.
In 1924, Hughes married Nan Hardie, Keir Hardie's daughter. Hughes and Nan Hardie shared the same political philosophy and ideals. As Labour councillors on the town council in Cumnock, South Ayrshire, they worked together for slum clearance and the provision of council housing. Both were provost of the Council. After Nan's death, Hughes married in 1949 Martha Cleland, daughter of P.M. Cleland, a Glasgow schoolmaster.
Hughes was first elected to Parliament on at by-election on 7 February 1946 for South Ayrshire caused by the death of Alexander Sloan, the sitting Labour MP. Hughes was re-elected in the general elections of 1950, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1964, and 1966. As a left-winger and pacifist, Hughes was a frequent rebel against the party's leadership. He twice had the whip withdrawn, between November 1954 and April 1955, and between March 1961 and May 1963. His Constituency Labour Party always supported him in his clashes with the leadership.

In 1952, Hughes caused further controversy by calling for a reduction of the civil list payments to the British Royal Family. During the debate, Hughes identified himself as an anti-monarchist and "a republican, like President Eisenhower".
On 14 July 1966, Gwynfor Evans won Carmarthen from Labour in a by-election. Emrys Hughes was "one of the few to extend the hand of friendship". Hughes supported in the House of Commons Gwynfor Evans' right to take the oath in the Welsh language. When Winifred Ewing of the SNP won the Hamilton by-election from Labour in 1967, Hughes was similarly welcoming.
Hughes died on 18 October 1969, while still an MP.
His papers were deposited at the National Library of Scotland.

Selected works