Ray Edward Harry Collins, Baron Collins of Highbury (born 21 December 1954) is a British politician and

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 serving as a Member of the House of Lords since 2011. A member of the Labour Party, he served as General Secretary of the Party from 2008 to 2011. Collins has been Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Africa, 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 ...

and Government spokesperson for Equalities since 2024.

Trade unionist

Collins was appointed Central Office Manager of the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

in 1984 and held essentially the same post until 2008, being redesignated Head of Administration in the 1990s and Assistant General Secretary in 1999. He has been a member of the Labour Party for over thirty years and has campaigned for the party in every General Election since 1970. He was TGWU representative on the Labour Party National Policy Forum and a member of Labour's National Constitutional Committee. He helped steer the TGWU into a merger with Amicus, creating Unite, one of the largest trade unions in the country.

Labour Party

Collins took the helm because the party was reportedly close to bankruptcy. In May 2008,

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

figures showed the party was £17.8 million in debt. On 20 January 2011, Collins 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 Collins of Highbury, ''of Highbury in the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming part of Inner London, Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalg ...

'', and was introduced 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 ...

on 24 January 2011, where he sits on the Labour benches. He was appointed a

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

in 2011. He was appointed Labour's Lords Spokesperson for International Development in 2013. On 10 July 2013 Collins was asked to review and make recommendations for internal Labour Party reform. His recommendations included replacing the

electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

system for selecting new leaders with a "

one member, one vote "One man, one vote" or "one vote, one value" is a slogan used to advocate for the principle of equal representation in voting. This slogan is used by advocates of democracy and political equality, especially with regard to electoral reforms like ...

" system. Mass membership would be encouraged by allowing "registered supporters" to join at a low cost, as well as full membership. Members from the trade unions would also have to explicitly "opt in" rather than "opt out" of paying a political levy to Labour. On 1 March 2014, at a special conference, the party largely adopted these recommendations.

Personal life

Collins married his partner Rafael in 2014. He received a grant of arms, crest, supporters and badge from Garter Woodcock on 12 June 2015.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Ray 1954 births English trade unionists Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Living people English gay politicians People from Newport, Isle of Wight Alumni of the University of Kent LGBTQ life peers Labour Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting