Dame Juliet Evangeline Rhys-Williams, Lady Rhys-Williams, ( Glyn; 17 December 1898 – 18 September 1964) was a British writer and politician who was successively a member of the Liberal National Party, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and the Conservative Party.

Early life

As Juliette Evangeline Glyn, she was the daughter of Clayton Louis Glyn, a barrister, and his wife Elinor Glyn. She was educated in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

, and joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment aged 15. She began her career as private secretary to the Director of Training and Staff Duties at the Admiralty in 1918, becoming private secretary to the Parliamentary Secretary,

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

, 1919–1920. She was working for Sir Rhys Rhys-Williams, 1st Baronet, and they were married in 1921. Subsequently she was often known as Lady Williams.

Political career

She contested the 1938 Pontypridd by-election as a Liberal National candidate. Her candidacy attracted popular attention because she decided to stand when her baby daughter was just 8 days old. As a supporter of the National Government she received the formal support of the local Conservative Association. In a two-way contest she polled 40% of the vote. From then on her political activities were in support of the official Liberal Party. In 1943 she became Honorary Secretary of the Women's Liberal Federation. In 1944 she became Chairman of the Publications and Publicity Committee of the Liberal Party, serving for two years. She was a member of the Liberal Party's ruling Council. Her ideas on income tax reform were published by the Liberal Party. She contested the 1945 general election as the Liberal Party candidate for Ilford North. She resigned after a disagreement on policy matters with her party's leaders. Lady Rhys-Williams was a member of the

Beveridge Committee The Beveridge Report, officially entitled ''Social Insurance and Allied Services'' (Command paper, Cmd. 6404), is a government report, published in November 1942, influential in the founding of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It was drafte ...

and unsuccessfully proposed a

Basic Income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to perform Work (hu ...

in the form of a

negative income tax In economics, a negative income tax (NIT) is a system which reverses the direction in which tax is paid for incomes below a certain level; in other words, earners above that level pay money to the state while earners below it receive money. NIT ...

, as an alternative to the main, insurance based recommendation of the

Beveridge Report The Beveridge Report, officially entitled ''Social Insurance and Allied Services'' ( Cmd. 6404), is a government report, published in November 1942, influential in the founding of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It was drafted by the Lib ...

. She later joined the Conservative Party, was the secretary (1947-1958) and chair (1958 onwards) of the United Europe Movement and editor of ''European Review''. She was nevertheless against signing the Treaty of Rome and campaigned vigorously against joining the Common Market, which she thought would hand over British sovereignty to Europe and betray the Commonwealth. She also became a prominent member of the right-wing Conservative Monday Club.

Interests

Lady Rhys-Williams was interested in film, and involved in the development of colour film, taking out a patent in 1930, with Sydney George Short.

Family

Sir Rhys and Lady Rhys-Williams had four children; Brandon Rhys-Williams was the second son, and inherited the baronetcy, his elder brother having died in 1943.

Publications

*''Doctor Carmichael'' (1940), London: Herbert Jenkins *''Something to Look Forward to; a Suggestion for a New Social Contract'' (1943), London: Macdonald *''Family Allowances and Social Security'' (1944), Liberal Publication Department *''Taxation and Incentive'' (1953), New York: Oxford University Press *''A New Look at Britain's Economic Policy'' (1965), Harmondsworth: Penguin

References

External links

Papers of Juliet Rhys-Williams in the LSE archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhys-Williams, Juliet Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) politicians British activists British women activists British writers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Officers of the Order of St John 1898 births 1964 deaths Wives of baronets