Allan Rogers
Member of Parliament
for Rhondda
In office
9 June 1983 – 14 May 2001
Preceded byAlec Jones
Succeeded byChris Bryant
Member of the European Parliament
for South East Wales
In office
10 June 1979 – 14 June 1984
Preceded byconstituency created
Succeeded bysee South Wales East
Personal details
Born(1932-10-24)24 October 1932
Gelligaer, Wales
Died28 November 2023(2023-11-28) (aged 91)
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Ceridwen James
​
(m. 1959)​
Children4

Allan Ralph Rogers (24 October 1932 – 28 November 2023) was a British Labour Party politician. He was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East Wales from 1979 to 1984, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Rhondda in Wales from 1983 until he stepped down at the 2001 general election.[1][2][3][4]

Background

Rogers was born in Gelligaer in 1932.[5] He had a scholarship to Selwyn College, Cambridge, but was unable to take it up when his national service deferment papers were 'mislaid'. He performed his national service with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and studied geology at Swansea University.[5] He subsequently worked as a geologist in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, and Australia, before becoming a teacher.[6]

After a successful career as a geologist, he found himself as an educator, first at secondary level and then in adult education. Later, alongside fellow WEA tutor organiser, Neil Kinnock, he introduced adult education classes for the workers at Switchgear. He also introduced art classes in mental health facilities. During his time as an MP, he also taught at the University of Glamorgan.[5]

Politics

Rogers was elected to the Gelligaer District Council in 1965, and then to the Glamorgan County Council in 1970, which was replaced in part to the Mid Glamorgan County Council in 1974.[5] In 1979, he was elected to the European Parliament.[5]

Parliamentary career

Rogers was elected the Member of Parliament for Rhondda in 1983.[5] During his time as an MP, he served on the Welsh Affairs Committee, Public Accounts Committee and the European Scrutiny Committee. He was also opposition defence spokesman, foreign affairs spokesman, and a member of the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee.[6] During the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum, he strongly sided with the "No" campaign.[5]

The Guardian reported that in the 1997 election he was being offered a peerage, in a similar fashion to fellow Welsh Labour MP Ray Powell, in return for a younger candidate taking his seat, as it is one of Labour's safest, an offer which he allegedly rejected.[7][8]

Personal life and death

In 1959, Rogers married Ceridwen James, and they had four children, 12 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. After retiring from Parliament, he continued to work for the British Geological Survey, the Geological Society, and became Chair of the Earth Science Education Forum.[5]

His family was incredibly important to him. He died on 28 November 2023, at the age of 91.[9] His successor as MP for Rhondda, Sir Chris Bryant, called him "a magnificent advocate for the people of the Rhondda through some of its darkest times".[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Mr Allan Rogers, former MP, Rhondda - TheyWorkForYou". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Social Security Contributions: Public Bill Committees - TheyWorkForYou". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "Labour astride valley of the polls". 8 June 2001. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  4. ↑ "Mr Allan Rogers". Hansard. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Allan Rogers, MP dubbed leader of Labour's 'yob tendency' by Private Eye – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Former Labour Rhondda MP Allan Rogers dies aged 91". BBC News. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  7. ↑ White, Michael (23 March 2001). "Labour veteran admits offering seat for peerage". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Bates, Stephen (29 May 2001). "Labour's man tests tribal loyalties". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  9. ↑ Hayward, Will (28 November 2023). "Tributes to former 'devoted' Rhondda MP Allan Rogers". Wales Online. Media Wales. Retrieved 28 November 2023. Chris Bryant, who replaced him in the safe Labour seat said: 'I'm very sad to hear that Allan Rogers, Labour MP for the Rhondda from 1983 to 2001, died this morning...'
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