Llewellyn Thomas Smith (16 April 1944 – 26 May 2021) was a British
Labour Party politician.
Early life and education
According to Smith, his father was born in England and moved to Wales as a child. He began working at the local
colliery
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...
(
Newbridge) at the age of thirteen, and his brother died in a tragic accident while also working there. Smith's father eventually died of cancer and
pneumoconiosis
Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of interstitial lung disease where inhalation of dust (for example, ash dust, lead particles, pollen grains etc) has caused interstitial fibrosis. The three most common types are asbestosis, silico ...
, a group of diseases typically associated with mineworkers.
Smith was educated at
Coleg Harlech as an adult, referring to himself as a "second chance" student. Before becoming a politician, he worked as a labourer and computer operator.
[
]
Political career
Smith was Member of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
(MEP) for South Wales East from 1984 to 1994, being re-elected in the 1989 European election. While in this position, he worked with members like Alex Falconer, Stan Newens
Arthur Stanley Newens (4 February 1930 – 2 March 2021) was a British Labour Co-operative politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1983, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984 to 1999.
Bac ...
, and Alf Lomas to improve the democratic accountability of the parliament.
At the 1992 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders the Local government in Wales, unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly County Borough ...
, succeeding former Labour leader Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot beg ...
. He was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group
The Socialist Campaign Group, also simply known as the Campaign Group, is a UK parliamentary caucus of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party including Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the Uni ...
, and defied various government whips. He opposed the private finance initiative
The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...
, the creation of nuclear weapons,[ and ]Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
's stance on the Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
.
Smith became known for his opposition to devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
and the formation of the National Assembly for Wales
The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...
; in May 1997, Welsh Secretary Ron Davies threatened disciplinary action against Welsh Labour MPs who planned to campaign against a Welsh Assembly in the devolution referendum. Smith was a specific focus of this move, having various party meetings about his views and being threatened by Davies and his policy adviser with expulsion if he chose to act on them. A public row ensued in which Davies was pushed to say that those who reasonably opposed devolution, including Smith, would not be removed from the party. After this, Smith stepped back from his complaint to the standards and privileges committee, but did not withdraw it. Following the creation of the Assembly, he continued to vote against giving it further powers and funding,[ and led a campaign to change its voting from a proportional list system.
In the 2001 general election, Smith won Blaenau Gwent with 61% of the vote, beating the ]Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
candidate by 19,313 votes. In 2002, he was one of several MPs to express support for the Labour Against the Euro group, which opposed the UK's possible membership of the single currency.
In December 2002, Smith made an early announcement that he would be standing down as an MP, so a suitable candidate could be found for the next general election. Later, the Blairite
In British politics, Blairism is the political ideology of Tony Blair, the former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007, and those that support him, known as Blairites. It entered the '' New Penguin English Dictio ...
Maggie Jones was chosen to succeed him in an all-woman shortlist. Smith opposed this move as it took the choice of representation out of the hands of constituents, and instead suggested that Assembly Member Peter Law
Peter John Law (1 April 1948 – 25 April 2006) was a Welsh politician. For most of his career Law sat as a Labour councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent. Latterly he sat as an independent memb ...
would win in the 2005 general election should he go against Jones, calling him a "popular and effective representative".[ This prediction came true when Law stood as an Independent, becoming the MP for Blaenau Gwent for the year up until his death. Twenty party members were expelled for openly supporting Law, but Smith remained within the party due to not openly voicing any support.][
Following Law's death from a brain tumour in 2006, the seat was won by Dai Davies, who had previously been Smith's agent.][
]
Other work
In 2010, an exhibition was put on by Smith and his late wife at Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
's People's History Museum
The People's History Museum (the National Museum of Labour History until 2001) in Manchester, England, is the United Kingdom's national centre for the collection, conservation, interpretation and study of material relating to the history of wor ...
, entitled ''Politics, Protest and the Christmas Card''. It told the history of left-wing politics through the medium of the Christmas card. Following this, in 2012 he published ''Glad Tidings of Struggle and Strife'' with his wife as co-author, showing a selection of the cards.
Personal life
Smith and his wife Pam (who died in 2008) had two sons, Matthew and Benjamin, and a daughter, Eleanor.
He died from cancer on 26 May 2021 at the age of 77.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Llew
1944 births
2021 deaths
European democratic socialists
MEPs for Wales 1984–1989
MEPs for Wales 1989–1994
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
Welsh Labour MEPs
Welsh Labour MPs
Welsh socialists