Thomas Arthur Ponsonby, 3rd Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede (23 October 1930 – 13 June 1990) was a British hereditary peer and Labour Party politician. He was the eldest son of Matthew Henry Herbert Ponsonby, 2nd Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, and his wife Hon. Elizabeth Mary Bigham, daughter of the 2nd

Viscount Mersey Viscount Mersey, of Toxteth in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1916 for the lawyer and politician John Bigham, 1st Baron Mersey. He had already been created Baron Mersey, of ...

. He was educated at

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the town of Blandford Forum, in Dorset in South West England. It was founded in 1928 ...

and

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

Political career

He served in London local government for 20 years, firstly as a council member of the

Metropolitan Borough of Kensington The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, Metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965, which since 1901 was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington, following the death of Vict ...

from 1956 to 1965 and then as an Alderman of the newly created

Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Kensington and Chel ...

from 1964 to 1974. He was also an Alderman of the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

from 1970 to 1977 and served as the Chairman of the Council from 1976 to 1977. Ponsonby succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father in 1976 and made his maiden speech in 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 ...

on the subject of local government devolution. He was elected as

Labour Chief Whip The Chief Whip of the Labour Party oversees the whipping system in the party, which is responsible for ensuring that Labour MPs or members of the House of Lords attend and vote in parliament in the desired way of the party leadership. Chief Wh ...

in the House of Lords in 1982, defeating

Lord Strabolgi Baron Strabolgi (pronounced "Strabogie") is a title in the Peerage of England supposedly created in 1318 for Scottish lord David of Strathbogie, 10th Earl of Atholl. Despite lack of evidence supporting its existence, it was called out of abeya ...

. He served as Opposition Chief Whip until his death in 1990. Ponsonby was an active member of the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fa ...

, serving as its general secretary from 1964 to 1976, and was a Governor of the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

from 1970 to 1990.

Marriage and family

He had married twice: * firstly Ursula Mary Fox-Pitt, the daughter of Cdr Thomas Stanley Lane Fox-Pitt of Devon, with whom he had a son and three daughters, and * secondly Maureen Estelle Campbell-Teich, the widow of Dr Paul Campbell-Teich of Geneva, Switzerland. He was succeeded by his son,

Frederick Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede Frederick Matthew Thomas Ponsonby, 4th Baron Ponsonby of Shulbrede, Baron Ponsonby of Roehampton (born 27 October 1958), is a British peer and Labour politician. Life Frederick Ponsonby was the eldest child of Thomas Ponsonby, 3rd Baron Ponso ...

References

1930 births 1990 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Members of London County Council Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers Councillors in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea General Secretaries of the Fabian Society People educated at Bryanston School Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford {{UK-baron-stub