[2] Born in Abergavenny, Law was educated at Grofield Secondary School and then attended Nant-y-Glo Community College.

[1] He was latterly a close ally of Llew Smith, MP for Blaenau Gwent from 1992, and was selected for the constituency in the first elections to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, winning the seat easily.

When Morgan formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, Law made no secret of his opposition to the decision and was not retained in the administration.

He became a vociferous backbench critic and following his re-election with an increased majority in the 2003 election[5] he stood as candidate for the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Welsh Assembly.

Law left the Labour Party in protest at the use of an all-woman shortlist in selecting the candidate for the general election, which was used to replace the retiring Llew Smith.

Law believed all-woman shortlists were being selectively imposed on local parties only where a leadership-supported male candidate was unlikely to be selected, citing the example of Ed Balls and Pat McFadden as new leadership-supported male candidates, and noting that use of all-woman shortlists had been stopped in Scotland.

[9] Law's independent position had a particularly significant impact in the Welsh Assembly, as it meant that Labour lost its majority.

[12] Law died at his home in Nantyglo, aged 58, suffering from a recurrent brain tumour first diagnosed during the 2005 election campaign.

[15] In December 2007 a memorial concert in honour of Law was held locally, with the proceeds raised donated to Hospice of the Valleys.