in the first ballot. Initially being Eurosceptic, Hooson was the only Liberal MP to vote against entry into the Common Market in a 'free vote' division on 28 October 1971, although he campaigned for a 'Yes'(Remain) vote in the 1975 referendum. He later became solidly more pro-European telling an audience at a Welsh Political Archive lecture in the 1990s: Hooson also wrote in a draft of his unfinished and unpublished autobiography: "I believe we need a federal Europe" He introduced the Government of Wales Bill on St David's Day 1967, taking one of the first steps to the formation of the Welsh Assembly. At the 1979 general election, Hooson lost his seat to the Conservatives and was then appointed a life peer as Baron Hooson, of Montgomery in the County of Powys and of Colomendy in the County of Clwyd. Montgomeryshire was regained by the Liberal Party at the next general election; it was then held by the Liberal Party and its successor party, the Liberal Democrats, until the 2010 general election. Hooson sat for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, where he was active in improving the Mental Health Act, urged police reforms and spoke on law reform and drug trafficking. Hooson was vice-chairman of the North Atlantic Assembly's political committee, where he worked with Congressman John Lindsay on one of the early reports recommending détente with eastern Europe. Personal life and other interests In 1950, Hooson married Shirley Hamer, daughter of Sir George Hamer, Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire. They had two daughters, Sioned and Lowri. He sent his daughters to London's only Welsh-speaking school, and chaired its governors. The family home was in Llanidloes, where Lord Hooson's funeral was held in the China Street Chapel. In 1980 he chaired a consortium that bid for the Wales and West television franchise, and became a member of the ITV Advisory Council. In 1985, Emlyn Hooson became a non-executive director of Laura Ashley, and was later made chairman in 1995. He was already Chairman of the Trustees of the Laura Ashley Foundation, a post he filled from 1986 to 1997. From 1991 to 2000, he was Chairman of Severn River Crossing PLC, the company operating both the Severn Bridge and the Second Severn Crossing. He became President of the National Eisteddfod of Wales at Newtown in 1966 and the following year, he was made Honorary White Bard of the