Anthony James Clarke, Baron Clarke of Hampstead,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(called Tony; born 17 April 1932) is an English

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist and Labour Party politician.

Union roles

A former telegraph boy and

postman A mail carrier, also referred to as a mailman, mailwoman, mailperson, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, postperson, person of post, letter carrier (in American English), or colloquially postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Unite ...

, in 1979 Clarke became a full-time official of the Union of Postal Workers, which in 1980 became the Union of Communication Workers (UCW). He edited the UPW journal ''The Post'' in 1979, and served as the UCW's Deputy General Secretary from 1981 to 1993.

Labour Party chairmanship

He stood as a Labour Parliamentary candidate for

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

in the February and October 1974 general elections, losing both times to

Geoffrey Finsberg Geoffrey Finsberg, Baron Finsberg, (13 June 1926 – 8 October 1996) was a British Conservative politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead from 1970 to 1983, and for its successor constituency, Hampstead & Highgate, from 1 ...

. Clarke was a member of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee from 1983 to 1993, and served as

Chairman of the Labour Party The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with ...

from 1992 to 1993.

House of Lords

He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1998 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1998 for the United Kingdom, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis were announced on 30 December 1997 ...

. He was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 29 July 1998, as Baron Clarke of Hampstead, of

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

. He chaired the Taskforce established to investigate the causes of the disturbances in Burnley in 2001. After a period of being on leave of absence he returned to the Lords in April 2022.

References

External links

Communication Workers UnionHouse of LordsHansard
1932 births Living people Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub