Gwilym Haydn Jones (born 20 September 1947) is a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician who served as Under Secretary of State in the

Welsh Office The Welsh Office () was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post wh ...

Early life

Gwilym Jones was born in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, London, on 20 September 1947 and moved to Cardiff in 1960. He worked as an

insurance broker An insurance broker is an intermediary who sells, solicits, or negotiates insurance on behalf of a client for compensation. An insurance broker is distinct from an insurance agent in that a broker typically acts on behalf of a client by negoti ...

. When he was 21 he was elected to Cardiff City Council, and is believed to be its youngest ever member. He became deputy leader and acting leader of the Conservative group on the council.

Parliament

At the 1983 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Cardiff North. He retained his seat until the 1997 election, when was defeated by Labour's

Julie Morgan Julie Morgan (née Edwards; 2 November 1944) is a Welsh Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of the Senedd for Cardiff North seat in the Senedd since the 2011 election. She was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff No ...

. Between 1994 and 1997 he served as Under Secretary of State in the Welsh Office.

Personal life

Jones is active in

freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. His daughter, Fay Jones, was elected in 2019 to serve Brecon and Radnorshire after beating Liberal Democrat incumbent Jane Dodds. In 2023, she was appointed to his previous role as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales. His wife Linda died on 28 February 2022, aged 75.

References

Offices held

Living people 1947 births Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 Councillors in Cardiff Welsh Conservative councillors Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cardiff constituencies {{Wales Conservative Party MPs