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A Breach in the Family

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A Breach in the Family The Lloyd Georges J Graham Jones examines the defections, in the 1950s, of the children of David Lloyd George: Megan to Labour, and her brother Gwilym to the Conservatives. AA breachbreach inin thethe familyfamily G. thinks that Gwilym will go to the right and she became a cogent exponent of her father’s ‘LMegan to the left, eventually. He wants his dramatic ‘New Deal’ proposals to deal with unem- money spent on the left.’ Thus did Lloyd George’s ployment and related social problems. Although op- trusted principal private secretary A. J. Sylvester posed by a strong local Labour candidate in the per- write in his diary entry for April when dis- son of Holyhead County Councillor Henry Jones in cussing his employer’s heartfelt concern over the fu- the general election of , she secured the votes of ture of his infamous Fund. It was a highly prophetic large numbers of Labour sympathisers on the island. comment. The old man evidently knew his children. In , she urged Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin to welcome the Jarrow marchers, and she battled he- Megan roically (although ultimately in vain) to gain Special Megan Lloyd George had first entered Parliament at Assisted Area Status for Anglesey. Megan’s innate only twenty-seven years of age as the Liberal MP for radicalism and natural independence of outlook Anglesey in the We Can Conquer Unemployment gen- grew during the years of the Second World War, eral election of May , the first women mem- which she saw as a vehicle of social change, espe- ber ever to be elected in Wales. Her maiden speech, cially to enhance welfare reform and the rights of which she did not deliver until April , was a women. She served on an impressive array of war- notably pungent, left-wing peroration in support of time committees within the ministries of Health, the Rural Housing Bill introduced by Ramsay Labour and Supply, while in her close friend MacDonald’s second minority Labour government. Herbert Morrison, the Minister of Supply, invited Almost immediately she had carved out a distinct her to chair the vaunted ‘Women against Waste’ niche for herself as an independent minded, highly campaign. She also pressed for increased agricultural individualistic member with unfailingly strong radi- production and for more effective organisation of cal, even labourite, leanings — to the acclaim of her the Women’s Land Army. famous father. When the so-called National Gov- All these activities served to activate her indig- ernment was formed in August , Megan be- enous labourism, as did her unqualified welcome for came one of the tiny group of Lloyd Georgeite ‘in- the proposals of the Beveridge Report and her dependent Liberals’ and was, in this guise, comfort- membership of the Central Housing Advisory ably re-elected to the Commons in the general elec- Committee established to coordinate post-war tions of and . In the former campaign she housing construction. In the first ever ‘Welsh Day’ had fiercely opposed MacDonald’s plans to axe pub- debate held in October , which she herself was lic spending, and she appealed for job creation, most privileged to open, Megan’s rousing speech called notably in the port of Holyhead where unemploy- for the reconstruction of the public industries — ment ran at perilously high levels. Even in the early coal, steel, electricity and forestry — and she insisted s there were persistent (if unconfirmed) ru- that the full employment achieved by the exigencies mours that she was likely to join the Labour Party as of war should continue in the post-war world. She she frequently urged cooperation between the Lib- had clearly drifted far to the left of mainstream, eral and Labour Parties, and it is possible that it was moderate Liberal thinking and she voiced concern only her overwhelming loyalty to her father which over the policies which her party might embrace kept her true to the Liberal faith. when peace came. Together with colleagues like In the – Parliament, Megan continued to (Sir) Dingle Foot, she urged that the Liberals should press for an expansionary economic approach to align themselves unambiguously on the left, reject- tackle the problem of the ‘intractable million’ long- ing out of hand any possibility of an alliance with term, structural, unemployed, and in the spring of the Simonite Liberal Nationals. 34 Journal of Liberal Democrat History 25: Winter 1999–2000 Most surprisingly, in the general elec- sonal friend of both Clement Attlee and destine negotiations with Herbert tion of , Megan was relieved of Herbert Morrison and was on especially Morrison to prepare the ground for a Conservative opposition on Anglesey amicable terms with the close-knit ‘Lib-Lab pact’. Then, in November, (one of five Liberal MPs in Wales to re- group of women Labour MPs, one of matters came to a head when Megan ceive this stroke of good fortune) and whom was to recall, ‘Megan was a great and three followers – Foot, Roberts and she faced only a sole Labour opponent favourite in the Labour women’s Parlia- Philip Hopkins – staged a revolt inside in the person of Flying Officer Cledwyn ment of ; we looked on her as one the Liberal Party, threatening to join Hughes (now Lord Cledwyn of of us’. Her close relationship with La- Labour immediately and causing Penrhos), a Holyhead solicitor then on bour MP Philip Noel-Baker also Clement Davies seriously to consider leave from the RAF. Local rumours that brought her closer to the left. She was resigning as party leader. Eventually the she had made a pact with the Anglesey vehemently critical of local electoral storm blew over, and the fractious party Conservatives were totally unfounded pacts between the Liberal and Con- remained intact, but Megan remained as it was Hughes who seemed to reap servative parties and she frequently at- obsessed with what she insisted was a the benefit of a two-concerned fight. tacked what she considered to be Clem- distinct ‘drift to the Right in the Liberal ‘Unless Liberalism is the dominating ent Davies’ right-wing stand. As early as Party — a drift away from the old radi- force in the next House of Commons’ December she had spoken out in cal tradition’, and with what she re- asserted Megan, ‘We shan’t get peace, defence of the nationalisation pro- garded as Clement Davies’ weak-kneed good houses or work’, subsequently gramme of the Labour government: ‘We leadership — ‘There is no telling what claiming that ‘the Liberal Party [had] the are not afraid of public control of coal, Davies will say or do next’. When the most practical policy for social security transport, electricity and water’, and a next parliamentary session began in in the famous Beveridge Plan’. In the year later she was the only Liberal MP to November, Megan was predictably event her majority was unexpectedly defy the party whip by supporting the outspoken at a meeting of the Liberal axed to ,, only twelve Liberals MPs government’s Transport Bill. Party Committee — ‘The Liberal ship were re-elected to Westminster (seven of Persistent rumours that Lady Megan is listing to the right and almost sunk these from Wales) and Megan was sud- was on the point of joining the Labour beneath the waves’. denly compelled to re-assess her political Party intensified during and . When the ‘frustrating and frustrated position. Congratulating her constitu- Describing her as ‘the only … radical Parliament’ elected in February ents on remaining firm in the midst of left in the Liberal Party’ influential was compelled to go to the country in the ‘Socialist avalanche’, she declared, north Wales trades union leader Huw T. the autumn of the following year, Lady ‘My faith in Liberalism and its future re- Edwards implored her to ‘move left’ in Megan faced yet another extremely mains unchanged’. But the nub of her November , and Herbert close three-cornered fight in Anglesey. new-found dilemma was this: how Morrison in particular urged her to Cledwyn Hughes fought the seat for the should the self-confessed Labourite change her political allegiance. Small third general election in succession and radical respond to a landslide Labour wonder that Clement Davies appointed local Conservatives had secured a nota- government firmly entrenched in power her deputy leader of the Liberal Party bly strong contender in O. Meurig and determined to enact its own left- in January , a move undoubtedly Roberts who launched hard hitting per- wing legislative programme? designed to restrict her freedom of ma- sonal attacks in Megan – ‘True Liberals Following the Liberal Party’s near noeuvre. Even in her new position, in Anglesey are not at present repre- decimation at the polls in , and the she underlined her party’s need for a sented by any candidate’ – while the unexpected defeat of party leader Sir ‘true Radical programme’ adding performance of the Liberal Party within Archibald Sinclair in Caithness and somewhat impudently, ‘of course that the House of Commons marked them Sutherland, E. Clement Davies, the lit- means shedding our Right Wing’. out, he claimed, as ‘a very small party tle-known former Simonite MP for Generally, Davies and his chief whip which cannot even agree among them- Montgomeryshire (like Megan, a vet- Frank Byers failed conspicuously to selves.’ It was suggested that Lady eran MP first elected in ) was cho- create a united front within the Liberal Megan, like Emrys Roberts and Edgar sen as party ‘chairman’ by the twelve re- Party during the years of the Attlee ad- Granville, had been singled out for spe- maining MPs. Lady Megan Lloyd ministrations. cial attention by the Tories because of George, after just about the only In the general election of , their general support for the Labour popular national figure within the party Megan surprisingly increased her ma- government.
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