Andrew Zelig Stone, Baron Stone of Blackheath (born 7 September 1942) is a Labour member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. He retired as joint managing director of Marks and Spencer plc in 1999. He is currently a director of several non-government organisations, a retail company and is involved in several charities. He also chairs the charity DIPEx that helps patients gain information on their condition and their options. In October 2019, he was suspended from the Labour peers group.

Professional career

He joined Marks and Spencer as a trainee in 1966 and retired from his position as joint managing director of the company in 1999. He is currently a director of N Brown Group plc. He was the non-executive chairman of Deal Group Media plc until 2007, when he resigned from this position. He is an advisory board member of The Next Century Foundation. He is chairman of Sindicatum Climate Change Foundation and chairman of The DIPEx Charity, a charitable health organisation. He is a governor of the ''Weizmann Institute of Science'' and honorary vice president of ''The Movement for Reform Judaism''. He is a patron of the

Institute for Jewish Policy Research The Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), founded as the Institute of Jewish Affairs, is a London-based research institute and think tank. It specializes in contemporary Jewish affairs. JPR also runs a public education programme, and has hos ...

, the Gauchers Association, the

New Israel Fund The New Israel Fund (NIF) is a United States-based non-profit NGO established in 1979. It describes its objective as social justice and equality for all Israelis. The New Israel Fund says it has provided $300 million to over 900 Israeli civil so ...

, the Jewish Chernobyl Children, the Orphaids charity, The Forgiveness Project (as of 2004) and LEAD Nepal – Development for the future of Nepalese Youth. He is a trustee of Prism the Gift Fund and formerly a trustee of the Olive Tree Educational Trust (now The Olive Tree Scholarship Programme at City University). He is also the host and convenor of the annual awards of the International Media Council (now part of the

International Council for Press and Broadcasting International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

) based in London.

Political career

He was created a life peer as Baron Stone of Blackheath, of Blackheath in the

London Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on 29 October 1997. He has voted strongly for the introduction of a smoking ban and for gay rights. He is a working Labour peer and does not usually rebel against his party. However, he has repeatedly voted against the party on House of Lords reform as well as on the Prevention of Terrorism Bill and the Hunting Bill. He has listed his political interests as conflict resolution, art and science, health and ecology. In October 2019, he was suspended from the Labour peers group after the House of Lords standards committee found that he had harassed four female colleagues and made transphobic remarks. He also repeatedly used the N-word in evidence to the commissioner in a bid to defend his conduct.

Memberships

Lord Stone is a member of the International Trade Council.International Trade Council
/ref> He is a member of

Labour Friends of Israel Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that promotes support for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party and the Isra ...

Personal life

Lord Stone met his wife, Wendy, when both worked for Marks & Spencer: they are now separated. They share a birthday, with Wendy being five years younger. Their children are Daniel, Jessica and Susie, and they have two grandchildren.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Andrew 1942 births Living people Stone of Blackheath Life peers created by Elizabeth II Place of birth missing (living people) Jewish British politicians Labour Friends of Israel