Emrys Hughes

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Emrys Hughes (10 July 189418 October 1969) was a Welsh Labour politician, best known for being the biographer and son-in-law of Keir Hardie, the Scottish politician.

Hughes was born in Tonypandy, Wales, the son of the Reverend J. R. Hughes. He was educated at Abercynon Council School, Mountain Ash Secondary School and City of Leeds Training College, and became a teacher by profession. In the First World War he was imprisoned as a conscientious objector. In 1924, he married Nan Hardie, the daughter of Keir Hardie. He also became editor of the socialist journal Forward.

On 7 February 1946, Hughes stood in the South Ayrshire (Scotland) by-election, following the death of the sitting MP Alexander Sloan. He was elected as he constituency's Member of Parliament, and re-elected in the general elections of 1950, 1951, 1955, 1959, 1964, and 1966. A left-winger, he was frequently at odds with the leadership of the Labour Party and twice had the whip withdrawn, between November 1954 and April 1955 and then between March 1961 and May 1963.

On 14 July 1966, Gwynfor Evans won Carmarthen from Labour in a by-election. He was shown around the House of Commons by Emrys Hughes; on being pointed out the Welsh table in the Commons' tea room, Hughes warned him, "You’d better not sit down there, your name’s mud among that lot." [1]

Apart from his biography of Keir Hardie, Hughes also wrote a biography of Sydney Silverman.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Alexander Sloan
Member of Parliament for South Ayrshire
1936–1969
Succeeded by
Jim Sillars