Tribute as Lord Gwilym Prys-Davies dies, aged 93
THE former Labour Lord Gwilym Prys-Davies has died at the age of 93.
A passionate proponent of the Welsh language and supporter of devolution, he found his political home in Labour after leaving Plaid Cymru in the 1960s.
After joining Labour he worked as a special adviser to Lord Morris of Aberavon – the Welsh Secretary in the Callaghan and Wilson governments – helping shape the party’s approach to devolution. It was this time in Westminster that reinforced his view that Wales could only be properly governed when it had an elected assembly “politically responsible for Welsh life”.
Born in Llanegryn, Meirionnydd, he served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War before qualifying as a solicitor.
After leaving the nationalists and joining Labour he lost the 1966 Carmarthen by-election to Plaid leader Gwynfor Evans.
In 1974, the new Labour government’s Welsh Secretary, John Morris, appointed him as a special adviser, in which role he supported the case for devolution. He was disappointed by the conduct of the 1979 referendum on creating a Welsh assembly – feeling Labour hadn’t committed to the idea.
Made a life peer in 1982, Lord Prys-Davies was the first person to take his oath in Welsh. Lord Morris of Aberavon said: “Wales has lost one of its great political figures who did so much behind the scenes to achieve devolution.”
He retired from the House of Lords in May 2015.