Thomas Pendry, Baron Pendry, (born 10 June 1934) is a Labour Party politician and member of the House of Lords. He was previously the Labour member of parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde from 1970 to 2001. In 2000, prior to his retirement as an MP he was made a member of the Privy Council on the recommendation of Tony Blair. After the 2001 election he was elevated to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

on 4 July as Baron Pendry, of

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and no ...

in the County of Greater Manchester under the Life Peerages Act 1958. He is president of the Football Foundation Ltd and was formerly sports advisor to Tameside District Council Sports Trust.

Early life

In an article in ''Cheshire Life'' magazine in June 2004, Pendry revealed that he was born in relatively comfortable circumstances in

Broadstairs Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 of ...

, Kent, attending school at

St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in 1538 during the English Reformation. After the abbey's dissolution, it underwent ...

. He worked as a trade union officer for NUPE, and as an engineer.

Political career

Pendry was a councillor on Paddington Borough Council in London from 1962 to 1965 (when the borough was abolished), representing Harrow Road South. He was elected to Parliament in 1970 for Stalybridge and Hyde, which at the time covered areas in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and Lancashire, and subsequently became part of Greater Manchester. He served as an

opposition whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

between 1971 and 1974.

Callaghan government

In James Callaghan's administration between 1976 and 1979 Pendry served as a junior Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (assistant government whip) and subsequently as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Opposition

In 1979 he returned to the backbenches, until he was appointed to the post of Shadow Minister for Sport and Tourism by

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

, a position he held until 1997. When the Labour government came to power in 1997, Pendry was the only member of the shadow team not to be appointed to a government post.

Honours and arms

On 21 July 1995, the Labour-controlled Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, the local authority which had administered the area covered by the Stalybridge and Hyde constituency since 1974, made Pendry an honorary freeman of the borough. At the same time, the council granted him the

lordship of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Mottram in Longdendale. Tameside Council have also named part of Trinity Street in front of the old Stalybridge market hall, ''Lord Pendry Square''. A local football club,

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

, have named one of their stands ''The Lord Tom Pendry Stand''.

Sport

Lord Pendry has a love of sport that he developed during National Service with the Royal Air Force. He was appointed president of the Football Foundation in February 2003 and continues to serve in this position. A young Pendry learnt boxing at the hands of a Benedictine monk, becoming an Oxford Blue and boxing for the RAF.

Other interests

Pendry is a member of the Lords and Commons Cigar Club. From June to September 2018, he sat on the Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities Committee. His memoir, ''Taking It on the Chin'', was published in 2016.

References

External links

The Stamford GroupArrowcroft plcThe Football FoundationTameside Sports Trust
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pendry, Thomas, Baron Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Broadstairs People from Stalybridge UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 1934 births Living people Northern Ireland Office junior ministers Royal Air Force airmen Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stalybridge and Hyde Life peers created by Elizabeth II