Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1979-1985 / (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
0.261 cubic metres (29 boxes)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Tom Ellis Hooson was Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnor from 1979 until his death in 1985. He was educated at Rhyl Grammar School, University College, Oxford and Gray's Inn. His early interests in politics started when he was a member of the Conservative Bow Group. In 1957, he founded the Welsh Farm News and contested the safe Labour seat of Caernarvonshire in the 1959 General Election. He was Chairman of the Bow Group and Bow Publications, 1960-1961, before joining the advertising agencies in London. He was senior Vice-President of Benton and Bowles Group Inc., 1961-1976, with responsibilities for European Operations, 1971-1976. He joined the Conservative Central Office as Director of Communications, 1976-1978, and Director-General of the Periodical Publishers Association, from 1978 until his death. It was Margaret Thatcher who suggested he should fight Brecon and Radnor. In 1979, he won a four-cornered fight with a majority of 3027 votes in a constituency which had been represented since 1935 by Labour Party MPs. He held on to the seat in the 1983 General Election with a strong majority, and continued to represent the constituency until his death. He was the first cousin of former Welsh Liberal leader and MP of Montgomery, Lord Hooson. He avidly opposed all forms of income tax and once proposed the creation of a state lottery to fund public spending. In 1980, he introduced a failed Private Members' Bill to allow tenant farmers to shoot rabbits at night. The Bill was later included in the Countryside Act. He was born on 16 March 1933 and died, aged 52, on 8 May 1985.
Archival history
The papers were formerly kept at Mr Hooson's office in the House of Commons.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated by Mr Brian Hooson, Liverpool in May 1988.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Over four thousand files of constituency correspondence, 1979-1985, from individual correspondents or organizations; and subject files relating to the House of Commons 1979-1985, housing, 1980-1985; transport (including the Central Wales Line), 1982-1984; Squatters, 1983; Rate Support Grant, 1983-1984; Warnock Report on education, 1985; and miscellaneous correspondence and papers, 1980-1985.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Action: All records donated to the National Library of Wales have been retained..
Accruals
Accruals are not expected.
System of arrangement
Arranged into the following groups: constituency correspondence; subject files.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
The embargo on access to the entire collection as noted below was reviewed and lifted by the Archives Section on 15/1/2025. Individual files may still be subject to embargoes.
Restricted access. Papers less than 20 years old may not be consulted without the written permission of the donor. Constituency files of a personal nature are closed for 50 years after the last date in each file: exemption s40, Freedom of Information Act 2000. Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright regulations apply
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
English, Welsh.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue is available in 'Minor Lists and Summaries 1988' at the National Library of Wales.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title supplied from contents of fonds.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Welsh Conservatives (Political party) -- Archives. (Subject)
- Conservative Party (Great Britain) -- Archives. (Subject)
- Welsh Conservatives (Political party) (Subject)
- Hooson, Tom, 1933-1985 -- Archives. (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows ANW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.;AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
May 2003.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by Seri Crawley for the ANW Project. The following sources were consulted in the compilation of this description: NLW Schedule of Minor Lists and Summaries (1988); NLW Obituaries Cumulated Index (1992-1997); Who was Who (London, 2001);