Tom Ellis

Robert Thomas Ellis (15 March 1924 – 14 April 2010) was a Welsh politician who was elected several times as a Labour Party Member of Parliament, and later joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Early life Ellis was born in Pant, Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire and was educated at Ruabon Grammar School. He entered the mining industry, and in 1957 was appointed manager of the nearby Bersham Colliery. He took further studies at the University of Wales and the University of Nottingham. He was a president of Wrexham Fabian Society. Parliamentary career Ellis joined the Labour Party in 1943. He first stood for Parliament without success in Flint West in 1966. Elected at the 1970 general election as Labour MP for Wrexham, he was re-elected in the February 1974, October 1974, and May 1979 elections. He also served as an indirectly elected Member of the European Parliament from 1975 to 1979. Ellis had grown increasingly disaffected with the leftward direction of the Labour Party by the beginning of the 1980s. He was one of the core handful of Jenkinsite Labour MPs who were prepared to leave the Labour Party without the Gang of Three of David Owen, Bill Rodgers, and Shirley Williams. In fact, he had even gone so far as seriously to contemplate joining the Liberals. Ellis' disenchantment with the Labour Party was so great that he probably voted for Michael Foot over Denis Healey in Labour's 1980 leadership election in order to accelerate the disintegration of the Labour Party.