Peter Ashley Thomson (19 March 1936 – 15 January 2010) was an Australian Anglican priest, best known for influencing

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

, the future

British prime minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...

, while they were both at St John's College, Oxford.Anthony Seldon, Blair (The Free Press, 2005) He also influenced Geoff Gallop, who later became Premier of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. His thought was deeply influenced by the Scottish philosopher John Macmurray. Thomson studied for the priesthood at Ridley College, an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

theological college in Melbourne, but became more radical in his Christianity and passionate about politics as a way for Christians to achieve their social objectives. After several jobs, Thomson attended Oxford to study for two years, where a group of undergraduates gathered around him and were influenced by his approach to politics. This group included both Blair and Gallop. Blair has stated that Thomson awakened his concern for a Christian approach to

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soc ...

References

External links

Indigenous Stock Exchange: People – Peter ThomsonObituary
from Melbourne Anglican diocese 1936 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Australian Anglican priests People educated at Brighton Grammar School Alumni of Ridley College, Melbourne Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Members of the Order of Australia {{Australia-reli-bio-stub