Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [c. 1931]-2011 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
2.423 cubic metres (211 boxes, 21 vols) (January 2018)
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The early members of the Independent Labour Party attempted to establish a South Wales Federation even before the end of the nineteenth century, but the South Wales Regional Council of Labour was not set up until 1937. In May 1947, the Welsh Regional Council of Labour became responsible for the whole of Wales, 'Regional' was dropped from the title in December 1959, and the body was re-christened Labour Party Wales in May 1975.
Archival history
The records were accumulated by the Labour Party Wales and by its predecessor bodies the Welsh Regional Council of Labour and the South Wales Regional Council of Labour, at their Cardiff headquarters.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Deposited by Labour Party Wales, Cardiff, per Ms Sue Phillips, in April 1985, October 1987, 1988, July 1992, May 1996, August 1999 and May 2002.; C1985/35, C1987/52, C1992/49, C1996/32, C1999/8, 0200207568; and per Ms Jennifer Burke Davies, Labour Party Wales, Cardiff, July 2016.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The 2016 accrual comprises administrative records and campaign material, 1946-2011, including ward minutes, 1959-1993; papers relating to the Swansea East by-election, 2001; and other by-elections, 1995-2006; documents and campaign material relating to Welsh devolution and Welsh Assembly elections, 1992-2003; annual reports and policy statements, 1946-2011; papers relating to general and local elections in Wales, 1991-2009; and Labour Party Wales ephemera, 1981-2005. The 2002 accrual comprises administrative records, 1994-1999; papers relating to the Cardiff City Labour Party, 1986-1990; subject files, 1965-1999, including papers concerning the Welsh language, 1965-1997, Welsh devolution, 1978-1999, women's issues, 1990-1997, and the National Health Service, 1991-1997; and a group of Labour Party publications, c. 1989-1999. -- The 1999 accrual comprises the original Executive Committee minutes, 1937-1987, and Annual Conference papers, 1938-1999, of the South Wales Regional Council of Labour, and its successor bodies the Welsh Regional Council of Labour, the Welsh Council of Labour and the Labour Party Wales; papers, 1983-1994, deriving from the organisation of the Annual Conferences of Labour Women Wales; administrative records, 1949-1996, including files deriving from the selection of Labour parliamentary candidates in 1989-1991, and records, 1949-1987, of Divisional Labour Parties within the city of Cardiff; correspondence and papers, 1931-1996, relating to the activities and role of the Labour Party Wales; files, 1970-1997, relating to the campaigns conducted by the Labour Party Wales in parliamentary, local and European elections; papers, 1974-1982, concerning the Labour Party Women's Committees; and a substantial group of publications, [1937]-1999, of the Labour Party and the Labour Party Wales, general publications of Welsh interest, [1937]-1969, and press cuttings, 1990-1995. -- Previous accruals, 1985-1996, not described in this catalogue, include photocopies of the minutes, 1937-1987, of the Executive Committee and microfilms of the reports of the Annual Conferences and of the reports of the Executive Committee to the Annual Conferences, 1938-1984; records, 1951-1992, deriving from parliamentary general and by-elections and European elections; papers concerning the party's organisation and policy, 1974-1987; and an array of files on specific subjects such as devolution, local government, the National Health Service, rural affairs, and the Welsh language and education.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Accruals are expected
System of arrangement
Arranged at NLW into seven groups: Executive Committee and Annual Conference papers; papers relating to the Annual Conferences of Labour Women Wales; administrative records; subject files; records relating to elections; Labour Party Women's Committees; and published material, including press cuttings. Some of the records arrived at the NLW in files which have been retained in the present catalogue. Others have been sorted and arranged at NLW.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unpublished records less than fifteen years old may not be consulted without the prior written permission of the Organiser of the Wales Labour Party. Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to sign the 'Modern papers - data protection' form.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply
Language of material
- Arabic
- English
- Welsh
Script of material
Language and script notes
English, Welsh, and some Arabic (see appropriate level descriptions)
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
A hard copy of the catalogue is available at NLW. A hard copy of the catalogue of the 1985-1996 accruals is also available at NLW.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
GEAC system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Welsh Regional Council of Labour (Subject)
- South Wales Regional Council of Labour (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
March 2018.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Compiled by J. Graham Jones. Revised by L. Hobson.
Archivist's note
The following source was used in the compilation of this catalogue: Hopkin, Deian, ed., Labour Party Wales, 1937-1987, a Documentary Souvenir, on the occasion of the Fiftieth Annual Conference (Cardiff, 1987).