Ron Davies (Welsh politician)

The Right Honourable Ron Davies
Davies in 1998
Leader of Welsh Labour
In office 19 September 1998 – 29 October 1998
UK party leader	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Alun Michael
Secretary of State for Wales
In office 2 May 1997 – 27 October 1998
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	William Hague
Succeeded by	Alun Michael
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
In office 5 November 1992 – 2 May 1997
Leader	John Smith Margaret Beckett Tony Blair
Preceded by	Ann Clwyd
Succeeded by	William Hague
Member of the Welsh Assembly forCaerphilly
In office 6 May 1999 – 1 May 2003
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Jeffrey Cuthbert
Member of Parliament forCaerphilly
In office 9 June 1983 – 14 May 2001
Preceded by	Ednyfed Hudson Davies
Succeeded by	Wayne David
Personal details
Born	(1946-08-06)6 August 1946 Machen,Monmouthshire,Wales
Political party	Labour(until 2004) Forward Wales(2004–2009) Independent(2009–2010) Plaid Cymru(2010–present)
Spouse	Christina Rees ​ (div.1999)​ Lynn Hughes ​ (m.2002)​
Alma mater	University of Portsmouth Cardiff University
Signature

Ronald Davies(born 6 August 1946) is a retired Welsh politician, formerSecretary of State for Wales,formerMember of Parliamentand former member of theWelsh Assembly.He describes himself as a politician belonging to the "traditional left" who had "spent his life looking for asocialist progressiveparty ". He was a member of theLabour Party(until 2004), and then ofForward Wales(2004–2009); he was subsequently an independent candidate and eventually joinedPlaid Cymruin 2010.

He is credited with being the "architect ofdevolution"inWalesand led the campaign to create theNational Assembly for Wales.He became the first Cabinet Minister to resign fromTony Blair'sCabinet,in 1998, following what became known as a "moment of madness" when he was mugged at knifepoint after agreeing to go for a meal with a man he had met at the well-known gay meeting place ofClapham Common.

Early and personal life

Born inMachenin theRhymney ValleyinMonmouthshire,he was educated inBassaleg Grammar Schoolbefore graduating in Geography atPortsmouth Polytechnic.

Davies was first elected as a Councillor in 1969 to the former Machen Urban District Council at the age of 23. A year later he became the youngest council leader in Britain at the age of 24. After local government re-organisation in 1974, he continued as a leader of the newly constituted Rhymney Valley District Council and led a campaign for a Fair Rents Act against plans by the Conservative Government ofEdward Heathto increase the amount of rent paid by council house tenants. However, in Labour circles it was well known that he wanted to surrender to the government, but was voted down by the local party management, led by Ray Davies.

After training to be a teacher atCardiff Universityhe spent two years as a school teacher before becoming a Tutor-Organiser for theWorkers' Educational Association,succeedingNeil Kinnockin 1970 when the future Labour leader was elected to Parliament. He went on Further to become Education Adviser for the Mid-Glamorgan Education Authority from 1974 until 1983, when he was elected to Parliament as the Labour MP forCaerphilly.

Davies was married to fellow Welsh MPChristina Rees;the couple divorced in 1999 and have one daughter, Angharad.He subsequently married his third wife, Lynne Hughes, they met on a Welsh-language course, marrying at a register office in Caerphilly on 5 August 2002.

Political career

British Parliament

After two years as abackbench MP,Davies was appointed an OppositionWhipin 1985, where his subject areas included agriculture and the environment. In 1987 he was appointed to the opposition frontbench as a spokesman on Agriculture and Rural Affairs responsible for reviewing the Labour Party's policies on animal welfare.

He was appointed Chief Opposition spokesman for agriculture in July 1992 and did much to highlight the growing threat fromBSE.In November 1992 he was appointedShadow Secretary of State for WalesbyJohn Smith.

As the Labour Party's chief spokesman for Wales from 1992 to 1997, Davies developed the party's devolution policy. He negotiated support for a sixty-member Welsh Assembly to take over the functions of the Secretary of State for Wales and elected by an element ofproportionality.His personal preference for a body with stronger powers was defeated internally.

In May 1997 Davies was appointed byTony Blairto thePrivy Counciland theCabinetas Secretary of State for Wales. One of his first acts was to return the £150,000 to theAberfan disasterfund that a previous Labour Government had taken to restore the site of the landslide that had devastated the valley's community in 1966, although controversially this was without interest being paid. As over thirty years had passed, the money was worth a fraction of its original value.

In July 1997, he published the Government's detailed devolution proposals in theWhite paper"A Voice for Wales" and led the Labour Party's successful campaign for a 'yes' vote in the devolutionreferendumon 18 September 1997. Though Labour reversed a 4 to 1 majority against devolution recorded in the1979 referendum,the slender majority of 0.6% on a 50.1% turnout, cast a shadow over the institution's authority.

He steered the Government of Wales Bill throughParliament,and on 31 July 1998, he saw theGovernment of Wales Actreach the statute book, putting in place the legislation to set up the first everNational Assembly for Wales.

He has been credited with being "the architect of devolution", and was appointed to the highest order of theGorseddof the Bards at the 1998 NationalEisteddfodinBridgend,earning the bardic name "Ron o Fachen" (Ron fromMachen)

"Moment of Madness" and resignation

On 19 September 1998, Davies defeatedRhodri Morganto become Labour's candidate for First Secretary of the Assembly at a special Welsh Labour Party conference inNewport.Just over a month later on 29 October 1998, he resigned this post – two days after resigning as Secretary of State for Wales on 27 October 1998. He stood down citing "an error of judgement" in agreeing to go for what he said was a meal with a man he had met while walking onClapham Commonin London, which is a well-knowngaymeeting place. He was mugged at knifepoint. The full details of the incident (which he infamously called a "moment of madness" at the urging ofTony Blair'sPress secretaryAlastair Campbell) have never emerged.He later acknowledged that he isbisexual,and was receiving treatment for a personality disorder which led him to seek out risky situations.He stood down from Parliament at the2001 general election.

National Assembly for Wales

On 30 January 1999, Davies was selected as a Labour candidate for the first elections to the National Assembly for Wales. He was elected on6 May 1999as Assembly Member for theCaerphilly constituency,and initially chaired the Economic Development Committee afterAlun Michaelrefused to appoint him to his Cabinet. Further revelations and disagreements with the Labour leadership resulted in his resignation from the chairmanship of the committee.

He is known for the phrase "Devolution is a process and not an event", by which he meant that the settlement he introduced in 1997 would not be the final one, and more powers would accrue to the Welsh Assembly over time. He wrote a pamphlet for thethink tanktheInstitute of Welsh Affairswith the same title in 1998.

Shortly before the2003 assembly elections,The Sunrevealed that Davies had been visiting a well knowncruisingspot near a motorwaylay-by.When challenged as to what he had been doing there, Davies initially denied being there, then told reporters that he had been going for a short walk, adding: "I have actually been there when I have been watching badgers". Davies was forced by his local party to stand down as Labour candidate in the election.

Political activity since 2003

Davies resigned from the Labour Party in 2004, citing opposition to theIraq War,the party's stance on university funding and worries about the competence ofWelsh Labour.He subsequently joined the newForward Walespolitical party, and stood for election to theEuropean Parliamentin June 2004 as a candidate of that party, but failed to be elected. He then stood unsuccessfully in the2007 assembly electionsas an independent for Caerphilly,placing third behind Labour andPlaid Cymru.

In the2008 local electionshe was elected toCaerphilly County Borough Council,as an independent councillor for the Bedwas, Trethomas and Machen ward. He also was the Cabinet Member for Regeneration.

Davies then started actively supporting thePlaid Cymruadministration inCaerphilly.His Forward Wales Party disbanded in January 2010,paving the way for him to stand as a Plaid Cymru candidate. Davies appeared at a Plaid Cymru rally inAberystwythduring the2010 UK general electioncampaign.He joined the party later in 2010 and stood unsuccessfully as the party's candidate in Caerphilly in the2011 Assembly elections.In 2012 he stood as a Plaid Cymru candidate for Bedwas, and was defeated.

External links

• Ron Davies AM MPat theWayback Machine(archived 17 August 2000)
• Documents on devolutionNational Library of Wales