Viscount tonypandy biography of williams

Avuncular statesman or firebrand maverick – Paul O’Leary ponders the true nature of George Thomas

FEW politicians have won as much popular acclaim and affection as the Labour MP George Thomas, who became Speaker of the House of Commons and was later ennobled as Lord Tonypandy.

When parliamentary proceedings were broadcast on radio for the first time in his voice – sonorously declaiming “Order!

Order!” – was

used as the daily introduction to BBC’s Today in Parliament programme.

Parliament now had a voice that could be heard in every household in the land, and that voice had an unmistakable Rhondda accent.

Towards the end of his life, he was something of a celebrity figure, spending his time on children’s charity work and socialising with royalty and the great and the good.

His friend Margaret Thatcher described him as “a deeply committed Christian with a shining integrity”.

Few politicians get accolades like tha