Sir Paul Stephen Kenny (born 31 October 1949) is a British former trade union leader. He served as

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the GMB, Britain's third biggest union.

Early life

Kenny left school at 15 and went to work for Fuller, Smith & Turner's Brewery. He went to Latimer Foundation School in Hammersmith, which was closed; he was transferred to St Marks School at Bishops Park in Fulham. His first job in local government was for London Borough of Hammersmith as the park keeper of Brook Green, along with its tennis courts.

Trade unions

Kenny became a full-time GMB official in December 1979. In 1991 he became the Regional Secretary of the GMB London Region.

GMB leadership

Kenny had been defeated by

Kevin Curran Kevin Curran may refer to: * Kevin Curran (cricketer) (1959–2012), Zimbabwean cricketer * Kevin Curran (cricketer, born 1928) (1928–2017), Zimbabwean cricketer * Kevin Curran (footballer, born 1919) (1919–1986), Australian rules footballer ...

in the 2003 GMB General Secretary Election to replace John Edmonds. However, he was appointed Acting General Secretary on 24 March 2005 following Curran's resignation after alleged

election rigging Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

. In May 2006 he was elected unopposed as GMB General Secretary. He was elected again in 2010 for a further five years unopposed. Between 2010 and 2016, he was the chair of the influential Trade Union & Labour Party Liaison Organisation.

Campaigns

Kenny has been heavily involved in campaigns, including

ASDA Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

companies (such as their ownership of the AA), public sector pay increases, and privatised utility companies. He led target campaigning against blacklisting of trade unionists by the construction industry. In August 2014, Kenny was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' opposing

Scottish independence Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. S ...

in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Personal life

Kenny now lives on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. He married Patricia Ward in 1969 in Hammersmith. He has two sons and four grandchildren, and supports

Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage unde ...

In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, Kenny was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

"for services to trades unions".

References

External links

''Times'' article September 2007

BBC interview 2002

Audio clips

Discussing public sector pay on the BBC in August 2008

News items

MPs' pay in December 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Paul 1949 births Living people General Secretaries of the GMB (trade union) People from Hammersmith Knights Bachelor Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Presidents of the Trades Union Congress