Thomas Richards

Who was Thomas Richards?

Thomas Richards was a Welsh trade unionist and politician.

Richards was first elected as Liberal Member of Parliament for West Monmouthshire at a by-election in 1904. In 1909, he was instructed by his trade union to resign the Liberal whip and take the Labour whip and at both the 1910 General Elections he stood as a Labour candidate. He held the seat until its abolition at the 1918 general election, when he was elected for the new Ebbw Vale constituency. He resigned from Parliament in 1920.

He was made a Privy Councillor in 1918. General Secretary of the South Wales Miners' Federation 1898-1931 and President of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain 1929-1930.