Thomas Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, (26 March 1925 – 20 March 2020) was a British

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an e ...

politician. He was the Member of Parliament for

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

from 1974 to 1983, and became a life peer in 1983.

Background

Thomas Edward Graham was born in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he saw active service in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and was seriously injured by enemy fire.

Political career

Graham was educated at the

Co-operative College Co-operative College is a UK educational charity dedicated to the promotion of co-operative values, ideas and principles within co-operatives, communities and society. Origins and development The Co-operative College is an educational charity w ...

and held several positions in the

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

movement from 1939, becoming National Secretary for the

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party () is a centre-left List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. The party currently has an electoral pact with the Labour Party. E ...

. He was a councillor on Enfield Borough Council from 1961, joining the new

London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield () is a London boroughs, London borough in Greater London, England. The main communities in the borough are Edmonton, London, Edmonton, Enfield, London, Enfield, Southgate, London, Southgate and Palmers Green. Enfi ...

in 1964 and becoming its leader for ten years. In 1966, Graham contested Enfield West at that year's general election. He was Member of Parliament for

from February 1974, serving as a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection from 1974 to 1976, then as a government whip from 1976 to 1979, with the title of

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second ...

. He was an opposition spokesman on the environment from 1980 to 1983, when he lost his seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

to Ian Twinn as part of Labour's landslide election defeat of that year. On 12 September 1983, after losing his seat, Graham was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Graham of Edmonton, of Edmonton in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. He was Labour

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

1990–97. He was chairman of the Co-operative Council, and served as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the 1987

Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the " Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK ...

. Graham was President of the Institute of Meat and Patron of the

Ancient Order of Foresters The Foresters Friendly Society is a British friendly society which was formed in 1834 as the Ancient Order of Foresters. As of 31 December 2016, the society had approximately 75,000 members. Its head office is located in Southampton, England. ...

and of the Edmonton

Constituency Labour Party A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituencies. In Sc ...

. On 18 December 1986, Graham was the only Peer in the House of Lords to speak against Lord Halsbury's Local Government Act 1986 (Amendment) Bill, which sought to prohibit the "promotion of homosexuality" by local authorities. This bill subsequently became law as Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, when it was reintroduced by

David Wilshire David Wilshire (16 September 1943 – 31 October 2023) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Spelthorne in Surrey from 1987 to 2010. Wilshire was considered to be to the righ ...

in the Commons.

Personal life

Graham married Margaret Golding in 1950. The couple had two sons. His wife was diagnosed with

myotonic dystrophy Myotonic dystrophy (DM) is a type of muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic disorders that cause progressive muscle loss and weakness. In DM, muscles are often myotonia, unable to relax after contraction. Other manifestations may include catarac ...

, a condition that both their sons would inherit; she died in 2005 and their sons shortly thereafter. Graham was a first cousin of Dr. Miriam Stoppard, Lady Hogg, a physician, and her son, actor

Ed Stoppard Edmund Stoppard (born 16 September 1974) is an English actor. He is the son of playwright Tom Stoppard and doctor Miriam, Lady Hogg. his credits include ' (2002), ''Joy Division'' (2006), '' Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire'' (2006) ...

, Miriam's son, as well as politician Oona King, Lady Hogg's's niece. He was a supporter of

Humanists UK Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent Irreligion in the United Kingdom, non-religious people in the UK throug ...

and lived in

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

, Essex. He died at a care home in

Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Wald ...

on 20 March 2020, six days before his 95th birthday.

References

Sources

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons'', 1966 & 1983 *

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Ted 1925 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the Co-operative College British humanists Councillors in the London Borough of Enfield Councillors in Greater London General secretaries of the Co-operative Party Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies Graham of Edmonton Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Presidents of Co-operative Congress British Army personnel of World War II UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 Life peers created by Elizabeth II