Alan John Williams (born 14 October 1930, Caerphilly) is a Welsh politician and Labour Member of Parliament for Swansea West since the 1964 general election. October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Caerphilly Castle Caerphilly (Welsh: Caerffili) is a town in Glamorgan, Wales, located at the bottom of the Rhymney Valley. ... For an explanation of often confusing terms such as Great Britain, Britain, United Kingdom, England and Wales and England, see British Isles (terminology). ... The Labour Party has, since the early twentieth century, been the principal left wing political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... Swansea West is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... The United Kingdom general election of 1964 result was a very slim majority for the Labour Party, of 4, and led to their first government since 1951. ...

As of the 2005 general election, with the retirement of Tam Dalyell, Williams is now the MP with the longest continuous service (as of 2006, 42 years), earning him the title of Father of the House. Williams is also the last parliamentary survivor of those that were elected in Harold Wilson's 1964 election win. The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 and won by the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair. ... Sir Thomas Dalyell of the Binns, 11th Baronet (born 9 August 1932), more commonly known as Tam Dalyell (pronounced ), is a Scottish politician and was a Labour member of the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent and successful British politicians of the 20th Century. ...

Williams served under Wilson as Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs from 1967 until 1969 and then as a Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Technology until 1970 when Labour lost power. When Labour were returned to power at the February 1974 general election, Williams was made Minister of State at the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, serving until Wilson left office in 1976. The new Prime Minister James Callaghan then appointed him as Minister of State at the Department of Industry serving until Labour left power in 1979. Williams was made a Privy Counsellor in 1977. The Minister of Technology was a position in the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as MinTech. The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilsons ambition to modernise the state for what he perceived to be... The UK general election of February 1974 was held on February 28, 1974. ... Minister of State is a title borne by officials in certain countries governed under the parliamentary system. ... The Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was a short lived United Kingdom government department created by the incoming Labour government in 1974 when the functions of the Department of Trade and Industry were divided between three new departments; (the Department of Trade, the Department of Industry and the Department... The Right Honourable Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (March 27, 1912 – March 26, 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... The Department of Trade and Industry is a United Kingdom government department. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ...

He has been on the backbenches since 1989. He is a Eurosceptic and was opposed to the National Assembly for Wales. Euroscepticism is scepticism about, or disagreement with, the purposes of the European Union, sometimes coupled with a desire to preserve national sovereignty. ... The National Assembly for Wales (or NAfW) (Welsh: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales, and is also responsible for most UK government departments in Wales. ...

External links

• [1] Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Alan Williams MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Alan Williams MP
• Ministerial posts