Bryan Capewell Stanley (3 May 1926 –19 July 2009) was a British

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leader. Born in

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

(on the first day of the General Strike), and educated at

Queen Mary's Grammar School Queen Mary's Grammar School (QMGS) is a boys' grammar school with academy status located on Sutton Road, Walsall, England, about a mile from the town centre and one of the oldest schools in the country. The sixth form is coeducational. Admiss ...

, Stanley started work with the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

in 1942, and also joined the

Post Office Engineering Union The Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It represented engineering staff in the Post Office, mostly working in telecommunications. History The union was founded in 1915 when the Post Office Enginee ...

(POEU). Stanley stood for parliament in the

1956 Hereford by-election The Hereford by-election of 14 February 1956 was held after the resignation of Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Jim Thomas.

before fighting

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

in the 1959 general election and a 1961 by-election, won by Peter Walker. His last parliamentary candidature was at Walsall South in the 1964 general election. In 1959, he became a full-time organiser for the union, and in 1972, was elected as its General Secretary. In 1973, he was elected to the Labour Party's

National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

. He stood down in 1978 to make way for John Golding, a Union-sponsored MP. In 1983, following a rule change at the TUC, providing automatic representation for unions with over 100,000 members, he became a member of the TUC General Council, where he remained until his retirement in 1986. Although on the right of the Labour Party, Stanley declined an offer from

Shirley Williams Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, (' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in the Labour cabinet from ...

to defect to the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, instead working to oppose the left within the party. In 1981, he convened the St Ermin's group of anti-militant trade union leaders, which aimed to co-ordinate their votes to win control of the Labour Party. He was not able to prevent the privatisation of

British Telecom BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...

, and retired in 1986, but took up a post on the Industrial Tribunals panel. Just before his retirement, the POEU merged with the Postal and Telecommunications Group of the Civil and Public Services Association to form the

National Communications Union The National Communications Union (NCU) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1985 when the Post Office Engineering Union and the Postal and Telecommunications Group of the Civil and Public Services Association merge ...

, and Stanley served as its first General Secretary.Bryan Stanley, former General Secretary of the now CWU
",

Union Network International UNI Global Union, formerly Union Network International (UNI), is a global union federation for the skills and services sectors, gathering national and regional trade union. It has affiliated unions in 150 countries representing 20 million workers ...

In 1990, Stanley was elected as a councillor in

Hertsmere Hertsmere is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other settlements in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar. The borough borders the three north London ...

, and in 1996, he became leader of the council. He worked to purchase

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

for the borough, and served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of the ...

and

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

in 1997. He was married with two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Bryan 1926 births 2009 deaths General Secretaries of the Post Office Engineering Union Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates British trade union leaders Mayors of places in Hertfordshire People from Walsall Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Councillors in Hertfordshire People educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School People from Elstree