Denis Tunnicliffe, Baron Tunnicliffe, (born 17 January 1943), is a British pilot and railwayman. He is a Labour

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 ...

, who has had several roles in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

ranging from a

Government Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips a ...

to a Defence Spokesman. He recently spent years as the Opposition Deputy Chief Whip; when Labour returned to power after the

2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...

the incoming

Starmer ministry The Starmer ministry began on 5 July 2024 when Keir Starmer was invited by King Charles III to form a government, following the resignation of Rishi Sunak after the 2024 United Kingdom general election, 2024 general election. Background Star ...

allotted the deputy chief whip's position (

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a Government of the United Kingdom, UK Government post usually held by the Government Whip (politics), Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is Margaret Whe ...

) to

Margaret Wheeler, Baroness Wheeler Margaret Eileen Joyce Wheeler, Baroness Wheeler (born 25 March 1949) is a British life peer currently serving as a Labour member of the House of Lords since 2010 and as Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords since 2024. In the ...

Early life and career

The son of Arthur and Ellen Tunnicliffe, he was educated at Henry Cavendish School in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in mathematics in 1965. He was further educated at the College of Air Training in Hamble and worked then for

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II ...

(BOAC) and later

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

from 1966 to 1986. Until 1972, he was co-pilot. Since 1968, he has been married to Susan Dale. They had two sons, one now deceased. From 1986 to 1988, Tunnicliffe was chief executive of the Aviation Division of International Leisure Group. For

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

, he was managing director between 1988 and 1998 and chairman between 1998 and 2000. Tunnicliffe was chief executive of

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operation ...

from 1998 to 2000 and chairman of the

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). T ...

from 2002 to 2004. Since 2003 he is chairman of the Rail Safety and Standards Board. For the British Airline Pilots' Association, he was a member between 1966 and 1972, and local council member from 1969 to 1972. Tunnicliffe is Trustee of

Homerton College, Cambridge Homerton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Its first premises were acquired in Homerton, London in 1768, by an informal gathering of Protestant dissenters with origins in the seventeenth century. In 1894, the col ...

and council member of

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

. In the 1993 Birthday Honours 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 Parliament

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 ...

as Baron Tunnicliffe, ''of

Bracknell Bracknell () is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies to the east of Re ...

in the County of Berkshire'' on 2 June 2004. Since his introduction to the

he has served in many positions namely as a

Lord in Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

for the last two years of the Labour Government. Following the 2010 General Election he was appointed as Opposition Deputy Chief Whip under Lord Bassam of Brighton while briefly serving as the Opposition Spokesman for Defence. He continued to serve as Deputy Chief Whip as well as a general spokesman for a range of issues, as is the custom for Whips in the House of Lords.

References

* 1943 births Alumni of University College London Alumni of Hamble College of Air Training Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Tunnicliffe Living people People associated with Royal Holloway, University of London Life peers created by Elizabeth II {{Life-peer-stub