Don Touhig

The Right Honourable
The Lord Touhig
PC KSS
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Defence
In office
11 May 2005 – 5 May 2006
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Preceded by Ivor Caplin
Succeeded by Tom Watson
Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
In office
2 May 1997 – 27 July 1999
Prime Minister Tony Blair
Chancellor Gordon Brown
Preceded by Peter Butler
Succeeded by John Healey
Member of Parliament
for Islwyn
In office
17 February 1995 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by Neil Kinnock
Succeeded by Chris Evans
Personal details
Born (1947-12-05) 5 December 1947
Abersychan, Monmouthshire, Wales
Nationality Welsh
Political party Labour Co-operative
Spouse(s) Jennifer Hughes (1968-2014)
Children 4
Website http://www.dontouhig.org.uk/

James Donnelly Touhig, Baron Touhig,[1] PC, KSS (born 5 December 1947), known as Don Touhig, is a British Labour Co-operative politician from Wales. He was the Member of Parliament for Islwyn from 1995 until his retirement in 2010.

Early life

He went to St Francis RC School in Abersychan near Pontypool, then the Mid Gwent College (now Coleg Gwent) in Pontypool. Before entering parliament, he had been a journalist from 1968–76. From 1976–90, he was the Editor of the Free Press of Monmouthshire (Monmouth Free Press). From 1988–92, he was the general manager and Editor-in-Chief of the Free Press Group of newspapers. He was the general manager (business development) of the Bailey Group from 1992–3, then of Bailey Print from 1993–5. He served on Gwent County Council from 1973–95. He joined the TGWU in 1962 and the Labour Party in 1966.

Parliamentary career

He contested the Richmond and Barnes seat in the 1992 general election. He was elected to Parliament in a by-election on 16 February 1995, to replace Neil Kinnock (party leader from 1983 to 1992), who had resigned. From 1996–7, he was on the Welsh Affairs Select Committee. He served as parliamentary private secretary to Gordon Brown and as a whip before becoming a minister. He had to resign in 1999 when he confessed to receiving a leaked Social Security Select Committee report on Child benefit.[2] He was later suspended for three days from the Commons.[3] He was succeeded by John Healey. He was a junior minister at the Ministry of Defence, with special responsibility for veterans, but left government in the May 2006 reshuffle.[4] He was made a Member of the Privy Council on 19 July 2006.

In Paul Flynn's 1999 book Dragons and Poodles, he was described as being the seamstress-in-chief of stitch ups, and that he could be ambitious and can be pompous.[5]

On 29 January 2010, Touhig announced that he would stand down at the 2010 General Election.[6]

Personal life

Touhig was married on 21 September 1968 to Jennifer Hughes. She died in 2014 from cancer, aged 67.[7] They have two sons and two daughters.

Honours

On 28 June 2010, Touhig was made a life peer as Baron Touhig, of Islwyn and Glansychan in the County of Gwent.[8] He is also a papal knight of the Order of Saint Sylvester (KSS).

References

  1. ↑ Introduction: Lord Touhig. House of Lords debates, 30 June 2010, 3:00 pm
  2. ↑ "Chancellor's aide quits over leak". BBC News Online. 27 July 1999.
  3. ↑ "MPs suspended over leak". BBC News Online. 21 October 1999.
  4. ↑ "Blair saga 'bleeds party' says MP". BBC News Online. 31 August 2006.
  5. ↑ "Dragons and Poodles – a story of Welsh politics". BBC News Online. 15 September 1999.
  6. ↑ "Labour Don Touhig, MP for Islwyn, is to stand down". BBC News Online. 30 January 2010.
  7. ↑ http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/11642047.Tributes_paid_to_wife_of_former_Islwyn_MP/
  8. ↑ "No. 59476". The London Gazette. 1 July 2010. p. 12452.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Neil Kinnock		 Member of Parliament for Islwyn
1995–2010		 Succeeded by
Chris Evans
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