Lady Megan Arvon Lloyd George, (22 April 1902 – 14 May 1966) was a Welsh politician and the first female Member of Parliament (MP) for a Welsh

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

. She also served as Deputy Leader of 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 ...

, before later becoming a Labour MP, serving in Parliament for 30 years. In 2016, she was named as one of "the 50 greatest Welsh men and women of all time".

Background

TNA COPY1-560-129 David and Megan Lloyd George

She was the youngest child of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

and his wife,

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, being born in 1902 in

Criccieth Criccieth, also spelled Cricieth (), is a town and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, Wales, on the boundary between the Llŷn Peninsula and Eifionydd. The town is west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It had a ...

Caernarfonshire Caernarfonshire (; , ), previously spelled Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Geography The county ...

. Her name at birth was registered with forenames Megan Arvon and surname George, but she adopted her father's barrelled surname "Lloyd George". As her father was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1945 for Liberal parliamentarian David Lloyd George who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1908 to 1915 and Prime Minister of the United Kin ...

in 1945, she gained the

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

of ''Lady'' Megan (Lloyd George).

Childhood

Lloyd George was imaginative and "sprite-like" when young, and was described in the local press as a "daring sceptic", disliking her father's stories of Daniel in the lions' den. Around the age of five, she would travel with her father to their house in Brighton, and delight his guests by bringing them an early morning cup of tea while they were still in bed. She began public engagements at an early age, and on 16 November 1910, at the age of eight, performed the opening ceremony of the extension of the Claremont Central Mission in

Pentonville Pentonville is an area in North London, located in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the London Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient p ...

Liberal Party

Like her brother,

Gwilym Gwilym is a Welsh given name and surname, related to William, Guillaume, and others in a number of other languages. Given name * Gwilym ab Ieuan Hen (1440–1480), Welsh language poet * Gwilym Davies (minister) CBE (1879–1955), Welsh Baptist m ...

, she followed her father into politics. She became the first female MP in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

when she won

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

for the Liberals in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. Along with her father, she refused to support

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

's National Government in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and successfully held Anglesey as an opposition Liberal at the 1931 General Election. She held the seat again as a Liberal from

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

. During World War II, she was a member of Radical Action, which called for a more radical political stance and for the party to withdraw from the war-time electoral truce. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s she campaigned for a

Welsh Parliament The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English language, English and () in Welsh language, Welsh, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its ro ...

and the creation of a

Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales (), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Ki ...

. Prominent among the radicals in the Liberal Party, she opposed what she saw as the party's drift away from her father's brand of

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

. During the late 1940s, Lady Megan (as she was universally known) remained on friendly terms with

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

and there were rumours that she would join the Labour Party. In 1949, Lady Megan was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in a bid to create unity, but after losing her seat she stood down in 1952. Disillusioned with the Liberals, she indicated in November that year that she would not stand again in Anglesey.

Labour Party

In 1955, Lady Megan defected to the Labour Party. In 1957, she stood against the Liberals as the Labour Party candidate at a by-election in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

and won the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

, which she held until her death from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

Pwllheli Pwllheli ( ; ) is a market town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula (), in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It had a population of 4,076 in 2011, which declined slightly to 3,947 in 2021; a large proportion (81%) were Welsh language, Welsh speaking. ...

in 1966, aged 64. She was

Philip Noel-Baker Philip John Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, (1 November 1889 – 8 October 1982), born Philip John Baker, was a British politician, diplomat, academic, athlete, and renowned campaigner for disarmament. He carried the British team flag and won a s ...

's romantic partner from 1936 until Irene Noel-Baker's death in 1956.

Awards and legacy

She was posthumously appointed as a

Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire. The orde ...

in the Dissolution Honours List published five days after her death. In 2016 she was included in a list of "the 50 greatest Welsh men and women of all time". In 2019 a

Purple Plaque The Purple Plaques () scheme in Wales, UK aims to install plaques on buildings to increase recognition of the lives of women who have had a significant and long-lasting impact associated with Wales. The scheme was initiated by several members of ...

to commemorate her was installed on the building that had been her family home in Cricieth.

References

Sources

* * Jones, J. Graham, entry in ''Dictionary of Liberal Biography'' Brack et al. (eds.) Politico's Publishing, 1998 * Jones, J. Graham
'A breach in the family: the defection from the Liberal Party of Megan and Gwilym Lloyd George'
* Jones, Mervyn. ''A Radical Life: The Biography of Megan Lloyd George, 1902–66.'' London: Hutchinson, 1991. * Price, Emyr ''Megan Lloyd George''; Gwynedd Archives Service, 1983

External links

* *
David Lloyd George Exhibition, National Library of Wales
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lloyd George, Megan 1902 births 1966 deaths Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom Deaths from breast cancer in the United Kingdom People from Criccieth Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies Welsh Labour MPs Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Welsh constituencies Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Daughters of British earls UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 Deaths from cancer in Wales

Megan Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in ...

20th-century British women politicians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Carmarthenshire constituencies