The Lord Wigley | |
|---|---|
 Wigley in 2006 | |
| Leader of Plaid Cymru[a] | |
| In office 24 September 1991 – 3 August 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Dafydd Elis-Thomas |
| Succeeded by | Ieuan Wyn Jones |
| In office 1 November 1981 – 27 October 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Gwynfor Evans |
| Succeeded by | Dafydd Elis-Thomas |
| Member of the Welsh Assembly forCaernarfon | |
| In office 6 May 1999 – 1 May 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Succeeded by | Alun Ffred Jones |
| Member of Parliament forCaernarfon | |
| In office 28 February 1974 – 14 May 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Goronwy Roberts |
| Succeeded by | Hywel Williams |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 24 January 2011 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Wigley (1943-04-01)1 April 1943 (age 82) |
| Political party | Plaid Cymru |
| Spouse | Elinor Bennett |
| Alma mater | Victoria University of Manchester |
Dafydd Wynne Wigley, Baron Wigley,PC (bornDavid Wigley; 1 April 1943) is a Welsh politician who served as the leader ofPlaid Cymru from 1981 to 1984 and again from 1991 to 2000. He served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forCaernarfon from 1974 to 2001 and as theMember of the Welsh Assembly forCaernarfon from 1999 to 2003. In 2010, Wigley was granted life peerage, taking his seat in theHouse of Lords in 2011.
Wigley was born inDerby, England, the only child of Welsh parents Elfyn Edward Wigley and Myfanwy Batterbee. He attended Caernarfongrammar school andRydal School before going on to theVictoria University of Manchester.[1]
Before becoming a Plaid Cymru MP for Caernarfon, Wigley worked for Ford Motor Company, Mars and Hoover.[2]
In May 1972 Wigley became a councillor on the pre-1974Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, winning in thePark, Merthyr Tydfil ward, with the sitting Labour councillor in third place.[3]
Wigley was elected as a Plaid Cymru councillor for Merthyr Tydfil in 1972 and was then the MP for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001,[4] first elected at theFebruary 1974 general election.
The election for president was seen as instrumental in deciding the future direction of Plaid Cymru. Wigley represented a moderate, pragmatic social democracy, in sharp contrast with rival candidate Dafydd Elis-Thomas's socialism. In 1981 Wigley won the presidency, but Elis Thomas had greater influence over the party's ideology throughout the 1980s. In 1984 Wigley resigned from the presidency because of his children's health, but he returned in1991 for a second term after the resignation of Elis Thomas. Wigley led Plaid until2000. He stood down as a Member of Parliament at the2001 General Election to concentrate on his role in the Assembly.[5] Having served 27 years as an MP, Wigley is the longest-ever serving post-war MP from a nationalist party.
Wigley was the Assembly member for Caernarfon from 1999 to 2003.[4]
He secured a Plaid Cymru nomination for a peerage alongsideEurfyl ap Gwilym andJanet Davies.[6] He initially withdrew his candidature after complaining about how long the process was taking.[7]
On 19 November 2010 it was announced that he had been granted a life peerage by the Queen,[8] and he took his seat in theHouse of Lords asBaron Wigley,ofCaernarfon in theCounty of Gwynedd on 24 January 2011,[9] supported by fellow Plaid peerLord Elis-Thomas and byLord Faulkner of Worcester.[10] He made his maiden speech on 27 January during a debate on tourism.[11] Having been one of the first MPs to take the House of Commons oath of allegiance in theWelsh language in 1974, he took the oath of allegiance in Welsh on entering the Lords.[12]
In 2015, Wigley was accused ofHolocaust trivialization for comparing theTrident base in Scotland toAuschwitz concentration camp. He later apologised for his remarks.[13]
In 2024, Wigley criticised theSenedd Reform Bill due to the introduction of a closed list PR system for elections to theSenedd.[14]
He married the Welsh harpistElinor Bennett. The couple had four children, son Hywel Wigley and daughter Eluned Wigley as well as two sons, Alun and Geraint, who died of a genetic illness. His sons' condition influenced the direction of his career, and he took a strong interest in the affairs of disabled people, being vice-chairman of the Parliamentary all-party disablement group, vice-president of Disability Wales, vice-president ofMencap (Wales), former president of the Spastics' Society of Wales and sponsor of the Disabled Persons Act in 1981. In 2003 Wigley became Pro-Chancellor of theUniversity of Wales.[15][16]
In 2008, Wigley was awarded an Honorary Chair in Business atBangor University.[17]
The Welsh Nationalists... brought off a shock victory in the Park ward of Merthyr where Mr Eddie Rowlands, former chairman of the local Labour Party, was beaten into third place by Mr D. Wigley (Plaid) and Mr. Arthur Jones (Communist).
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCaernarfon Feb. 1974 –2001 | Succeeded by |
| Senedd | ||
| New office | Assembly Member forCaernarfon 1999 –2003 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of Plaid Cymru 1981–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Plaid Cymru 1991–2000 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Leader of Plaid Cymru in the National Assembly for Wales 1999–2000 | |
| New office | Leader of the Opposition 1999–2000 | |
| Preceded by | Honorary President of Plaid Cymru 2005– | Incumbent |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Pro-Chancellor of the University of Wales 2003–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Wigley | Followed by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
