The Richard Burton Archives holds a great number of collections that relate to the party-political history of South Wales. The party-political material held by the Archives is particularly strong for the history of the Labour Party (including material from the Independent Labour Party) and the Communist Party (CPGB) but also includes material from the Liberals, Conservatives and Plaid Cymru. This includes but is not limited to,
In addition the Archives hold material to campaigns that political parties in Wales took part in. For example the Wales for Assembly Campaign and the Parliament for Wales Campaign.
The political parties mentioned are not an exhaustive list of all political parties that have stood in South Wales, rather there is a focus on parties that are represented within the Archives at time of writing.
The Labour Party since its creation in 1903, has had a close relationship with Wales, particularly the industrial south. Notably Kier Hardie the first leader of the parliamentary Labour Party was first elected to the seat of Merthyr Tydfil during the 1900 general election as part of the Labour Representation Committee. The industrial areas of South Wales have been an electoral stronghold for Labour from the 1922 General Election onwards.
The Richard Burton Archives contains material relating to the internal working of local Labour parties in South Wales. These materials normally consist of minute books, account books, press cuttings, rules, correspondence and notes. The Archives hold collections relating to over 20 different branches of the Labour and Independent Labour Parties (and affiliated labour and trades councils) within the South Wales Coalfield Collection.
In addition the Archives also hold records relating the South Wales Fabian Society. The Fabian Society has close links to the Labour party having been key in it formation in 1903. The South Wales Fabian Society collection contains records from 1942-1959 (Ref. SWCC/MNA/POL/21).
Further examples of Labour Party material can be seen below.
A photograph of Labour Party supporters at Cardiff Train Station following the 1929 general election. Part of the personal collection of Margaret Howells. (Ref. SWCC/PHO/PC/10/8)
Photograph of Kier hardie addressing a crowd on Dowlais top, Merthyr Tydfil C.1900. Part of the personal collection of Margaret Howells. (Ref. SWCC/PHO/PC/10/6)
Election Leaflet for Dorothy Rees who stood as the Labour candidate in Barry in 1951. Dorothy Rees was the first working class woman to represent a South Wales constituency in Parliament. (Ref. SC/119/13)
A large collection including correspondence, election material, parliamentary papers and constituency records from 1912-1971. S O Davies was the Labour MP for Merthyr between 1934 and 1950 and Labour MP for Merthyr Tydfil between 1950 and 1970. Notably S O Davies was deselected by the Labour Party in 1970 but during the 1970 general election he stood as an Independent socialist and won a significant majority in what was considered a shock victory. This collection may be useful to those studying the Labour Party from 1934 to 1970 or those interested in Merthyr politics at a local level. Due to Davies' interest in the Korean war and his anti-war beliefs more generally this collection may also be useful to studying anti-Korean war sentiment in the UK.
A Labour poster targeting pensioners produced for the general election of 1945 (Ref. SC/616/7/6)
Independent Labour Party
Founded by Kier Hardie in 1893 the Independent Labour party was initially established due to disputes within the Liberal Party over endorsing working class candidates. It remained it own independent force until the 1970’s and had a strong presence in the Industrial areas of South Wales.
The Richard Burton Archives contains a range of material relating to the Independent Labour Party some examples include -
Photograph of members of Cardiff Independent Labour Party Women's Group campaigning in a Municipal Election before the First World War. Part of the personal collection of Margaret Howells (Ref. SWCC/PHO/PC/10/4)
Despite having only relatively minor electoral successes the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) had some of its most significant support in the industrial South Wales Valleys particularly in the Rhondda. The Archive holds a significant amount of material relating to members of the CPGB who resided in the South Wales Valleys. In addition a number of the archives collections contain material produced by the CPGB such as leaflets, pamphlets, booklets and posters. For example:
At a more local level the archives hold personal collections relating to a number of figures within the Communist Party in South Wales. A few examples include
Annie Powell
Annie Powell is believed to have been the first mayor in the UK to be elected on a communist ticket. Although this is debated she was certainly the first female communist mayor in the UK. Annie Powell was a Councillor in the Rhondda for 20 years and was one of the last Communist Councillors in the Rhondda. The Archives hold a collection of newspaper clippings relating to her work as the Mayor for Rhondda as well as her political history in the Rhondda. (Ref. SWCC/MNC/PP/23)
A Communist Party March in Cardiff 1948 relating to unemployment. Annie Powell Communist Councillor and later Mayor of Rhondda can be seen on the left of the image. (Ref. SWCC/PHO/DIS/79)
A photograph showing the first Conference of the Communist Party in South Wales 1921. (Ref. SWCC/PHO/NUM/1/13)
The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) has its origins in the Tory Faction which is one of the oldest political parties/groupings in the UK alongside the Whigs/Liberals.
Between the period that the political collections in the archive cover (c.1900-c.1992) the Conservative Party never had any electoral strongholds in industrial South Wales instead tending to find success in the more rural constituencies such as Brecon and Radnorshire, and Monmouth.
The Archive holds only a very limited selection of material relating directly to the Conservative Party. The majority of the Archives' holdings relating to the Conservative Party form part of other collections either via election materials attacking the Conservative Party or Conservative Party material that was part of elections other parties competed in.
Examples of material directly relating to the Conservative Party include:
Prior to the successes of the Labour Party at 1922 General Election the Liberal Party had been a major electoral force in the industrial areas of South Wales, particularly in constituencies such as Swansea and Swansea West.
In the 1980’s the party worked closely with the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a Labour splinter group under what was known as the SDP–Liberal Alliance. The two parties then merged formally in 1988 to form what is now the Liberal Democrats.
The Richard Burton Archives holds election material produced by the Liberals at various general and local elections. Some examples of Liberal material can be seen below.
Liberal Party election material for the 1922 General Election. The leaflet stresses how David Lloyd-George intended to reduce the problem of unemployment. The 1922 General Election would see Lloyd-George's National Liberal's lose 74 seats. (Ref. SWCC/MNA/PP/21/5)
Margaret Kirkland Collection (Ref. LAC/58 )
The Women's Liberal Association was a part of the wider Liberal Party. The Margaret Kirkland Collection has a number of materials from the Women's Liberal Association of Swansea including a manuscript petition to the House of Commons demanding the vote for women with approximately 150 signatures. Many of the signatures come from women students at Swansea University. (Ref. LAC/58/B/1)
The first page of the petition sent by the Women's Liberal Association of Swansea to Westminster demanding the vote for women, c.1910. (Ref. LAC/58/B/1)
Plaid Cymru originally known as The National Party of Wales was founded in 1925.
Plaid Cymru’s main strongholds are located in West and North West Wales however the Parties' strategy has often involved targeting the industrial south of Wales with occasional success.
The Archives holds a few examples of material produced by Plaid Cymru, particularly from 1960 to1980. For example,
In addition Plaid Cymru played a role in the Wales for an Assembly campaign (1979) and the Parliament for Wales Campaign. As such the party is represented within these collections (see section on Welsh devolution).
Election address of J. Gwyn Griffiths, Plaid Cymru candidate in the Swansea municipal election 1962, Grifftiths was also a member of staff at Swansea University at the time. Produced by Plaid Cymru. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives. (Ref. LAC/12/8)
The Richard Burton Archives does not hold material relating to the Welsh Senedd (formerly known as the Welsh Assembly) or any of its elections. However there are two collections within the Archives that may be of interest to those researching the development of Welsh devolution. Although these are not strictly party political, MP's from various political parties campaigned on this issue of devolution.
Parliament for Wales Campaign
The Parliament for Wales Campaign is the earliest organised campaign dedicated to the issue of Welsh Devolution. The campaign had a significant amount of support from Megan Lloyd George the daughter of David Lloyd George. The movements' main accomplishment was to bring a petition signed by around 240,000 people to the House of Commons. The Archives hold material relating to this campaign as part of the Selwyn Jones Collection (Ref. SWCC/MNC/PP/17/25).
In addition the S O Davies collection contains material relating to this original campaign for Welsh Devolution, including letters and postcards in support of his Government for Wales Bill (1955). The collection also contains a copy of this bill which made it to second reading but it ultimately failed to get support in Parliament (Ref. SWCC/MNA/PP/16/28).
'Wales for the Assembly' Campaign
Although small, the Wales for the Assembly Campaign collection is a useful resource relating to the history of devolution. The group was in operation between 1977 and 1979 and campaigned for yes in the unsuccessful 1979 Devolution referendum. The group was headed up by Elystan Morgan former Labour MP for Cardiganshire but also had support from various other Labour MPs, the Liberals and Plaid Cymru. The collection contains handbills, posters, speakers' notes, circular letters and minutes produced by the group from 1977 to 1979. The failure of both this referendum and the Scottish devolution referendum in 1979 played a part in the downfall of the Callaghan government. This could be a useful resource for anyone looking into the history of devolution and the stance of the political parties on devolution.
Poster produced on behalf of the 'Yes' Campaign for the Welsh Devolution Referendum of 1979 . (Ref. SWCC/MNB/POL/8)
The Raissa Page collection contains a number of photographs of UK political leaders during the 1980's as well as photographs of party activists, political events such as the miners strike and members of the Fabian society. Some examples of the Raissa Page collection can be seen below in the gallery.
For additional information see the following guide - Raissa Page Collection - Richard Burton Archives - LibGuides at Swansea University
Photograph of Margaret Thatcher, Conservative Prime Minister at a press conference during the 1983 General Election (Ref. DC3/16/1/138)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Photograph of Liberal Party leader David Steel taken in 1983. (DC3/16/1/139)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Photograph of SDP Leader David Owen taken in 1983. (Ref. DC3/16/1/142)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Photograph of actress Glenda Jackson taken in the 1980s. Jackson would later go on to be the Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn between 1992 and 2010. (Ref. DC3/16/1/147)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Photograph of Michael Harskin who was part of the National League of Young Liberals and an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for the seat of Brent South in the 1987 General Election. (Ref. DC3/16/1/42)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Photograph of Dianne Abbott, Labour MP and first black woman MP in the House of Commons. Taken in August of 1987. (Ref. DC3/16/1/57)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Photograph of Robert Maclennan last leader of the original SDP taken sometime in the 1980s. (Ref. DC3/16/1/63)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Photograph of Julia Neuberger SDP candidate for Tooting in the 1983 General Election and later a member of the House of Lords, first as a Liberal Democrat and then a crossbencher upon becoming the senior Rabbi at the West London Synagogue. (Ref. DC3/16/1/75)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Photograph of Tony Benn, Labour MP and former Minister speaking at a miners' rally in London during the 1984 Miners' Strike. (Ref. DC3/6/3/9/3)
Photograph by Raissa Page. Protected by copyright. Not to be reproduced without permission, please contact Richard Burton Archives.
Other Sources at Swansea University
The South Wales Miners' Library holds audio recordings of MPs and ministers from the Labour Party including Neil Kinncok, Tony Benn and Sir Harold Wilson. This collection also contains interviews with members of the Communist Party such as Arthur Horner (Ref. SWCC/AUD)
The SWML also holds a collection of posters including those made by Labour and Plaid Cymru (Ref. SWCC/POS)
The university library also has subject pages on both History and Politics that might prove useful to studying political parties at the university.
Below is a selection of external sites that could prove useful in researching the history of political parties in South Wales.