Friday, February 07, 2025
The loss of a Welsh political giant
Very sad and shocked at the death of Dafydd Elis Thomas today.
I first met him when I was a student in, I think, 1980, at an NUS Wales conference, where he confessed to a table of us that he couldnt understand the logic of nationalists burning holiday homes when so many people were homeless.
We worked closely together on the Assembly Commission for a number of years, where Dafydd carved out an independent role for the parliamentary side of the Assembly, creating a separate identity for the organisation with its own chief executive and branding.
His role in developing bilingualism in the Assembly was not without controversy, but the settlement he helped to create persists to this day.
I would argue that he was one of the major architects of devolution. His influence is evident in all the subsequent Government of Wales Acts after 1998, while the organisational and political structure and processes used by MSs today, have his stamp all over them.
But he was also independent, stubborn, wilful, and determined, all characteristics of a first class politician with an exceptional political brain. He was also kind, attentive, and caring with a strong interest in the Welsh language and culture, a passion he was able to put into practise as a deputy minister in his final years as an AM.
He took a peerage in defiance of the wishes of his party, and told me often that when in the House of Lords he followed the Liberal Democrat whip.
He was a Welsh giant politically, and will be greatly missed. My thoughts and commiserations are with Mair and all his friends and family.
I first met him when I was a student in, I think, 1980, at an NUS Wales conference, where he confessed to a table of us that he couldnt understand the logic of nationalists burning holiday homes when so many people were homeless.
We worked closely together on the Assembly Commission for a number of years, where Dafydd carved out an independent role for the parliamentary side of the Assembly, creating a separate identity for the organisation with its own chief executive and branding.
His role in developing bilingualism in the Assembly was not without controversy, but the settlement he helped to create persists to this day.
I would argue that he was one of the major architects of devolution. His influence is evident in all the subsequent Government of Wales Acts after 1998, while the organisational and political structure and processes used by MSs today, have his stamp all over them.
But he was also independent, stubborn, wilful, and determined, all characteristics of a first class politician with an exceptional political brain. He was also kind, attentive, and caring with a strong interest in the Welsh language and culture, a passion he was able to put into practise as a deputy minister in his final years as an AM.
He took a peerage in defiance of the wishes of his party, and told me often that when in the House of Lords he followed the Liberal Democrat whip.
He was a Welsh giant politically, and will be greatly missed. My thoughts and commiserations are with Mair and all his friends and family.
