WILLIAMS, Sir Brandon Meredith Rhys-, 1927-1988, 2nd Baronet, politician

Papers of Brandon Meredith Rhys-Williams, 1965-1988, including political appointment diaries, 1980-1988; correspondence, press cuttings and printed material relating to various Kensington constituency issues, 1979-1988, including local health facilities, education funding, drugs, police and community relations, immigration and refugees, and homosexuality; general constituency correspondence, 1985-1988; papers relating to various Parliamentary campaigns, 1968-1988, notably on child benefit, housing, pensions, and social security; material concerning finance and taxation, 1968-1988, including note, speeches, reports and correspondence relating to finance bills, budgets and taxation; material concerning the many attempts of Rhys-Williams to pass a Companies Bill through Parliament, 1967-1988, including correspondence, draft bills, reports and press cuttings; papers relating to Europe, 1968-1988, including material on domestic opinion, the European Parliament, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the European League for Economic Co-operation, the European Democratic Group, the European Conservative Group and the European Economic Community; papers concerning Rhys-Williams' interest in social security reform, 1965-1988, including correspondence, printed reports, pamphlets, notes and drafts on subjects such as child benefit, taxation, pensions, basic income guarantee and European social security.

Born 1927; educated at Eton; served in Welsh Guards, 1946-1948, as a Lieutenant; worked for ICI Ltd; contested Pontypridd, 1959, and Ebbw Vale, 1960 and 1964; Assistant director, Spastics Society, 1962-1963; Consultant, Management Selection Ltd, 1963-1971; Conservative MP for Kensington South, 1968-1974 and Kensington, 1974-1988; Member, British Delegation to the Council of Europe, 1970-1972; Nominated Member, European Parliament, 1973-1979; Member of the European Parliament for London South-East, 1979-1984; Vice-Chairman, European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, 1973-1979; died 1988. Publications: The new social contract (Conservative Political Centre, 1967); More power to the shareholder (1969); 'Redistributing income in a free society' from Economic Age , Sep 1969. Stepping stones to independence: national insurance after 1990 (Aberdeen University Press, 1989) was published after his death.

The collection follows Rhys-Williams' own arrangement, and is sorted by subject as outlined in the Scope and Content.

Open, though some confidential files remain closed. Apply to Archivist for details.

Printed handlist and on-line catalogue available.

Sources: Who's Who 1897-1996 (A & C Black, 1996); British Library On-Line Public Access Catalogue 97; Historical Manuscripts Commission National Register of Archives. Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.

Copyright is held by the donor and their family. Most documents may be photocopied.

Given by the family in 1992. Four boxes of material relating to her son were transferred from the papers of Lady Juliet Rhys-Williams.

The British Library of Political and Economic Science holds further material relating to Sir Brandon Rhys-Williams in the papers of John Parker (Ref: Parker 3/5 and 5/8), and in various election ephemera (Ref: Coll Misc 0738 and 0711). The Library also holds the papers of his mother Dame Juliet Evangeline Rhys-Williams (Ref: Rhys-Williams J).