Philip Charles Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham (born 15 September 1942), is an English businessman and politician. A prominent

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

donor, Harris is a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. He is the sponsor of a large

multi-academy trust Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) or school trust is an academy trust that operates more than one academy school. Academy schools are state-funded schools in England which are directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local autho ...

, the

Harris Federation Harris Federation is a multi-academy trust of 52 primary and secondary academies in and around London. They are sponsored by Philip Harris (Lord Harris of Peckham). Description With 52 academies in London and Essex, the Harris Federation educates ...

Interests

Business

Harris is currently an advisor and shareholder of Tapi Carpets, a flooring retailer set up recently by a number of the old Carpetright management team. Harris was the Chairman of

Carpetright plc Carpetright Limited is one of the largest United Kingdom, British retailers of floor coverings and beds. The company is owned by Meditor. History The company was established by Philip Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham, Lord Harris of Peckham in ...

and has over fifty years' experience in carpet retailing. Harris left Carpetright in 2014, sold all of his shares and he is no longer associated with the company. He was chairman and chief executive of Harris Carpets. Harris Carpets acquired Queensway in 1977 to become Harris Queensway plc until the company was taken over in 1988. Harris was also a non-executive director of

Great Universal Stores GUS plc was an FTSE 100 retailing, manufacturing and financial conglomerate based in the United Kingdom. GUS was an abbreviation of Great Universal Stores, the company's name before 2001, while it was also known as the ''Glorious Gussies'' amon ...

plc for 18 years, retiring from the GUS Board in July 2004. Harris became a non-executive director of

Matalan Matalan is a British fashion and homeware retailer based in Knowsley, Merseyside. It was established by John Hargreaves in 1985, and is still owned by the Hargreaves family. , the company employed over 13,000, and had 230 stores in the United K ...

in October 2004.

Football

He was appointed to the board of

Arsenal Football Club Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (incl ...

as a

non-executive director A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of the ...

in November 2005.

Equestrian interests

Harris is the co-owner of the horse Hello Sanctos, which won a gold medal with Scott Brash in the team show jumping event at the London

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Harris and Lord Kirkham bought the horse for an estimated €2 million at the start of 2012. They are also co-owners of the horses Hello Sailor, Hello Unique and Hello Boyo.

Politics

Conservative Party donations

Harris has been a donor to the Tory Party since the 1980s and was a great admirer of Margaret Thatcher. He also made

donations A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as b ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

as leader of the

and

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...

Comments on Theresa May

In a September 2017 interview with ''The Times'' he described

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

as very indecisive, hopeless during the general election campaign which she should have won easily, and leading a weak, directionless government. Other comments made included his opposition to an expansion of grammar schools, May u-turning on too many decisions such as the so-called

dementia tax The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing Co ...

, and the Home Office not reducing net migration to the tens of thousands as repeatedly promised. Harris spoke about potential candidates on who could succeed May as Conservative Party Leader.

Harris Federation academies

He has contributed extensively to education and as a result, many schools and colleges (such as

Harris Manchester College, Oxford Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of th ...

) bear his name. Through the

, many secondary schools in South London have received Harris donations. In the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of . It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; ...

, he helped to found the

Harris City Technology College Harris City Academy Crystal Palace is a mixed-sex secondary school in Croydon, south London, England. It was established in 1990 to replace Sylvan High School, a newly built mixed comprehensive school which had opened in 1974. Sylvan, judged to b ...

Harris Academy South Norwood Harris Academy South Norwood is a city academy in South Norwood, London, for students of both sexes aged 11–18. The school was designated as a Business and Enterprise College by the Department for Education and Skills when it was formerly call ...

and

Harris Academy Merton Harris Academy Merton (formerly Tamworth Manor High School, and prior to that Pollards Hill High School) is a secondary school and sixth form located in the London Borough of Merton district of Mitcham. When inspected by Ofsted in 2012, it was j ...

Harris Academy Purley Harris Academy Purley (formerly ''Haling Manor High School'') is an academic secondary school in South Croydon, England. It is also part of the Harris Federation. Haling Manor High School was one of only fifteen schools in the country to be awa ...

Harris Academy Chafford Hundred Harris Academy Chafford Hundred (formerly Chafford Hundred Campus Business and Enterprise College) is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located in Chafford Hundred in the borough of Thurrock within the commuter belt of Lo ...

, Harris Academy Peckham although many local residents are angered that the original name of the Harris Girls' Academy East Dulwich, Stanley Technical High School, was dropped in place of the Harris name. In recent years, the forced change to academy status has placed additional schools under the management of the Harris Federation despite considerable opposition from Boards of Governors and parents.

Personal life

Sunday Times Rich List

Harris ranked 206th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, with an estimated wealth of £285m.

Honours

Harris was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1985. He was made 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. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron Harris of Peckham, in the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

on 11 January 1996. His wife, Lady Pauline, was created a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Phillip Harris of Peckham British businesspeople Arsenal F.C. directors and chairmen Fellows of King's College London Knights Bachelor 1942 births Living people Conservative Party (UK) donors People associated with Harris Manchester College, Oxford