Thomas Pendry, Baron Pendry, (born 10 June 1934)
is a
Labour Party politician and 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 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
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 ...
. 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 in the County of
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
under the
Life Peerages Act 1958
The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom.
Background
This Act was made during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when Harold Macmillan was Prime M ...
. 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, Kent, attending school at
St Augustine's Abbey. He worked as a trade union officer for
NUPE Nupe may refer to:
*Nupe people, of Nigeria
*Nupe language, their language
*The Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state
*A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African Amer ...
, 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
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, and subsequently became part of
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
. 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
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
(assistant government whip) and subsequently as
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...
for
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
Opposition
In 1979 he returned to the
backbenches
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of ...
, until he was appointed to the post of Shadow Minister for Sport and Tourism by
John Smith, 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
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan countie ...
, 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
Mottram in Longdendale is a village in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2011 census, the population for the ward of Longdendale, which includes Mottram and the surrounding area, was 9,950.
Historically part of Cheshire, it lies in ...
. 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, 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
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The ...
with the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. 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
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...
, becoming an
Oxford Blue
A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other ...
and boxing for the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
.
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