1040 Alfred Thomas

Constituency : East  Glamorganshire  1885-1910

Alfred  won  the  new  seat  of  East  Glamorganshire.

Alfred  was  born  in  Cardiff  but  educated  in  Wales. He  started  work  in  his  father's  business  as  a  contractor  of  some  sort . He  was  a  Baptist  who studied  under  the  biblical  scholar  Joseph  Angus. He  was  elected  to  Cardiff  Borough  Council  in  1875. He  was  mayor  of  Cardiff  in  1881-82  and   influential  in  the  decision  to  locate  the  University College  of  South  Wales  there  rather  than  Swansea. He  was  a  wealthy  man.

In  1886 Alfred  became  president  of  the  Baptist  Union  for  Wales.  Alfred  remained  a  sunday  school  teacher  throughout  his  parliamentary  career  and  composed  hymn  tunes. He  was  also  a  temperance  enthusiast.

In  1891 Alfred  introduced  the  unsuccessful  National  Institutions  ( Wales  )  Bill  calling  for  a  Secretary  of  State  , a  University  of  Wales  and  a  Welsh  Parliament  to be  located  in  Aberystwyth.  He  was  a  patron  of  Cymru  Fydd, the movement  to  gain  self-government  for  Wales  and  became  president  of  the  Welsh  National  Federation  which  succeeded  it. He  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Welsh  Parliametary  Liberal  Party  in  1898.

Alfred  was  knighted  in  1902. That  year  he  had  an  amendment  to  the  Education  Act  accepted  which  extended  the  principle  of  local  education  authorities  to  Wales.

Alfred  stood  down  in  December  1910. He  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  in  1912  as  Baron  Pontypridd.

He  died  in  1927 aged  87.