§ Madam SpeakerAll Members of the House have heard with sorrow of the death of Viscount Tonypandy, who was our Speaker from February 1976 to June 1983. I wish, on behalf of all parties and of each and every right hon. and hon. Member of this House, to pay a tribute to the memory of one of my most distinguished predecessors. [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]
Born in the mining communities of south Wales, George Thomas became a schoolmaster and, at the age of 25, a Methodist lay preacher. He entered the House in the vast intake of new Members in 1945. He quickly adapted to the ways of the House and, rather unusually, was chosen as a member of the Speaker's Panel of Chairmen at an early stage of his parliamentary career.
On the return of the Labour Government in 1964, George Thomas held junior office in the Home Office, the Welsh Office and the Commonwealth Office. It was a cause of great pride to him when, in 1968, he was appointed to succeed Mr. Cledwyn Hughes as Secretary of State for Wales. When his party returned to office in 1974, he was asked to take the post of Chairman of Ways and Means, and such was his distinction in that office that it came as no surprise when, two years later, he was unanimously elected Speaker on the retirement of Selwyn Lloyd.
For the next seven years, George Thomas was a dominant figure in the Chair. His presence was magisterial, but at the same time he appeared human and friendly. He was particularly adept at breaking tensions in the House with his own brand of humour. Radio listeners—this was before television was brought into the Chamber—became familiar with the attractive Welsh lilt of his voice.
Outside the Chamber, Viscount Tonypandy's influence was considerable. He was the first Chairman of the House of Commons Commission. In Speaker's House, many Members of all parties, including younger ones, had reason to be grateful for his wise advice and friendship. On his retirement, the then Prime Minister summed up the feelings of all Members when she said:
You have upheld with a special combination of impartiality and authority the dignity of your office and of this House".— [Official Report, 12 May 1983; Vol. 42, c. 920.]After his retirement, George Thomas became a valued contributor from the Cross Benches in that other place, and despite lengthy periods of ill health, he kept up his many outside charitable and other activities, most notably as chairman and later president of the National Children's Home. But the place where he liked most to be in his later years was in his beloved south Wales.
In saluting Viscount Tonypandy's memory, I know that I speak for the whole House in thanking God for his distinctive life of service to this House, to the country at large and to all his fellow men and women. We offer our condolences to his family and friends.