Lloyd George, Megan, 1902-1966

Person

Lloyd George, Megan, 1902-1966

• George, Megan Lloyd, 1902-1966

Lady Megan Lloyd George (1902-66) was the fifth child of David and Margaret Lloyd George. She enjoyed a quite unique childhood at 11 and 10 Downing Street, and accompanied her father to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Widely regarded as her father's natural political heir by the mid-1920s, she was elected Liberal MP for Anglesey in May 1929, the first woman MP in the history of Wales. In 1931 she became one of the tiny band of Lloyd George Liberals, and during the 1930s spoke regularly in the House of Commons on agriculture, unemployment and Welsh affairs. During the second world war she became a keen advocate of women's rights and Welsh issues. She was already clearly moving leftwards in the political spectrum, and there were persistent rumours that she was likely to join the Labour Party. In 1949 Clement Davies appointed Megan deputy leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party. She was defeated by Cledwyn Hughes in 1951, and subsequently joined the Labour Party in April 1955. She served as president of the Parliament for Wales campaign, 1950-56. Megan was elected Labour MP for Carmarthenshire in February 1957, serving until her death from cancer in May 1966. She remained a backbencher. Although unmarried, Lady Megan Lloyd George had a long, passionate affair with the Labour MP Philip Noel-Baker (1889-1982).

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