Elystan Morgan, Baron Elystan-Morgan

Dafydd Elystan Elystan-Morgan, Baron Elystan-Morgan (born 7 December 1932), known as Elystan Morgan, is a Welsh politician. He sat as a Crossbencher in the House of Lords from 1981 to 2020 and served as a Labour MP from 1966 to 1974.[1]

The Right Honourable The Lord Elystan-Morgan
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal
In office 27 May 1981 – 12 February 2020 Life Peerage
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs
In office 6 April 1968 – 19 June 1970 Serving with David Ennals and Merlyn Rees
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Dick Taverne
Succeeded by	Mark Carlisle
Member of Parliament for Ceredigion
In office 31 March 1966 – 28 February 1974
Preceded by	Roderic Bowen
Succeeded by	Geraint Howells
Personal details
Born	Dafydd Elystan Morgan (1932-12-01) 1 December 1932
Nationality	Welsh
Spouse(s)	Alwen Roberts (1959–2006)
Children	Eleri Elystan Morgan (b. 1960), Owain Elystan Morgan (b. 1962)
Parents	Dewi Morgan (1877–1971) and Olwen Jones (1900–1947)
Residence	'Carreg Afon', Dole, Ceredigion, Wales
Education	Ardwyn Grammar School
Alma mater	University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
Occupation	Judge and politician

Morgan was educated at Ardwyn Grammar School, Aberystwyth and the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. He became a solicitor.

Originally a Plaid Cymru candidate, Morgan contested Wrexham three times, at the by-election in 1955, and at the general elections in 1955 and in 1959, and contested Merioneth at the general election in 1964.

Morgan joined the Labour Party and was elected Member of Parliament for Cardiganshire, Wales at the 1966 general election, and served as a junior minister from 1968 to 1970, as Under-Secretary at the Home Office He was chairman of the Welsh Parliamentary Labour Party between 1971 and 1974. In the February 1974 general election, Morgan lost his seat to the Liberal, Geraint Howells. In 1979 he sought election as Labour candidate for Anglesey, following the retirement of Cledwyn Hughes, but was defeated by the Conservative, Keith Best. Following his defeat he largely withdrew from political life and concentrated on his legal career.

In 1959, Morgan married Alwen Roberts. They had two children, a daughter called Eleri born in 1960 and a son, Owain, born in 1962. Lady Elystan-Morgan died in 2006.[2]

He was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1971, entitled to practise as a barrister. He was created a Life peer on 27 May 1981, with the title Baron Elystan-Morgan, of Aberteifi in the County of Dyfed.[3] He held the office of Recorder between 1983 and 1987. He held the office of Circuit Judge between 1987 and 2003.

On 6 March 2007, Morgan supported the abolition of the blasphemy laws of the UK, quoting Richard Dawkins' description of God as "a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully". A deacon in the Presbyterian Church of Wales at Capel-y-Garn in Pen-y-garn, he was making the point that God did not need the protection of the law.[4]

He retired from the House of Lords on 12 February 2020.[5]