Vantage Point: an insider’s view of Welsh political history since 1945

This week, Gomer publishes a book which may have taken four years to write, but which took over fifty to prepare. The Welsh-language publication is Cynhaeaf Hanner Canrif (Half Century Harvest) by Lord Gwilym Prys Davies, and between its covers the author gives an account of the history of Welsh politics between 1945 and 2005.

The last sixty years have been a time of huge change in Welsh political history of course, and in some 180 pages Gwilym Prys Davies primarily examines the two parallel themes which have informed his long career as a patriotic politician, namely the campaign to establish a devolved government in Wales and the campaign to protect and promote the Welsh language by gaining official language status. He sees the two campaigns as two aspects of the same difficult task: the strengthening of the structure of Wales and the Welsh language.

Lord Prys Davies, who hails form Llanegryn in Meirionnydd and who is a solicitor by profession, was the Labour candidate defeated by Gwynfor Evans in the Carmarthen by-election of 1966. Throughout his political career he has worked tirelessly on behalf of Wales. With unique insight into what was going on behind the scenes, especially within the Labour Party, he evaluates with authority the contribution at a policy level made by the numerous influential politicians and civil servants of the day - Goronwy O. Roberts, James Griffiths, Cledwyn Hughes, J. Emrys Jones, George Thomas, John Morris, Ron Davies and others – people he knew well, and some of them colleagues of his.

The book’s editor J.Elwyn Hughes, said

‘Gwilym Prys Davies reveals many new facts and approaches in the book that have never been disclosed before. He also demonstrates how the discreet relationship he had with members of other political parties in Wales was crucially important in many ways – for example, the extraordinary meeting he had with Gwynfor Evans.’

The book is also an opportunity for Gwilym Prys Davies to give his seal of approval to the coalition set up between Labour and Plaid Cymru in 2007

‘During the campaigning of the last fifty years, I have become concerned about the destructive effects of internal conflicts within the ranks of Welsh radicalism; so a major and encouraging development in 2007 was the creation of the Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition on the Assembly stage based on the One Wales power-sharing document (despite its imperfect wording). The coalition was the product of a very special set of political circumstances and therefore it does not necessarily follow that the old animosity which has been so destructive in the past has or will disappear altogether. Our hope is that there will be enduring respect, a spirit of cooperation and reconciliation between the parties in government. And if this were to happen, it would be of immeasurable benefit to Wales.’

The author emphasises throughout the book the central dilemma which constantly faces the politician: how to keep to one’s fundamental principles and one’s integrity whilst accommodating all the pressures for compromise which are morally justified.

J. Elwyn Hughes adds

‘What you get from Gwilym Prys Davies in this book is the insight of someone who was right in the thick of things – an insider, yes, but someone who had the ability to look on as an outsider, objectively and with the utmost integrity.’

Here are some of Gwilym Prys Davies’ comments in the book about some of the greats of Welsh Labour politics between 1945-2005

On John Morris...

‘At all times throughout a period of forty years on the Labour front bench, John Morris was by nature a politician distinguished by purposeful commitment and a firm determination to achieve a specific objective as and when such conditions permitted. Without such opportunity, he became less interested in first rank political affairs and tended to withdraw to his professional work at the Bar. That element in his character is his main strength as a politician and in one sense the explanation for the political success which he has achieved.’

On Goronwy O. Roberts...

‘Goronwy Roberts will be justifiably remembered for forming the Gwerin Movement, even though nothing came of it once the War came and its members became dispersed. We must thank him for his pioneering work in bending the ear of the Labour Movement to the intellectual argument for the notion of Wales as a political unit. There was no way of knowing then that his pivotal strategy of making the Labour Party in Wales more responsive to Welsh national needs was achievable. But achieved it was.’

On Jim Griffiths....

‘I do not believe I would be misguided in asserting that Jim Griffiths has been the most influential and high-profile Welsh-speaking statesman in the history of the British Labour Party thus far. And it would be difficult to think of another who could have given to Wales the leadership he gave in his later years.’

On Cledwyn Hughes....

‘Geniality, fairness, forbearance, perseverance, warmth, yet with a touch of political cunning – as well as humour at all times – those were the particular characteristics of Cledwyn Hughes.’

On George Thomas....

‘He was a popular Calvinistic Methodist lay preacher, he campaigned for leasehold reform... he was a champion of the weak, the needy, the aged and the infirm. Nevertheless, despite all his virtuous deeds, he could suddenly become petty and malicious. He was quick to take offence– and he didn’t easily forgive those who transgressed. He was loyal to and a lapdog for Wilson. He was a severe critic of the Welsh nationalists and a ferocious opponent of any manifestation of an awakening of national consciousness in Wales. His fellow politicians tended to treat him as a lightweight. That was a mistake. He was an able politician with the cunning of a fox.’

On Ron Davies....

‘So strange, so complex, is life. If Providence was kind to Ron Davies on the eighteenth of September 1997, then it was not so just over a year later, when he was at the height of his power. Suddenly, on the evening of 26 October 1998, there emerged a crisis in his personal life...How could “a moment of madness” ruin one so completely? It was a great loss. None of us can tell whether Ron Davies would have remained the same man in the office of Prime Minister of Wales. But his record as Secretary of State for Wales, as a Spokesman on Welsh affairs, the excellent rapport between himself and Dafydd Wigley, his positive attitude towards the needs of the Welsh language and the evidence which suggests his broad support for the republican principle all augured that he could have been a bold and radical leader during a crucial period in our history as a nation.’

Cynhaeaf Hanner Canrif
Gwilym Prys Davies
ISBN: 9 781843 239420
Paperback
Gwasg Gomer
£8.99