Thomas Pendry, Baron Pendry, (10 June 1934 – 26 February 2023) was a British Labour politician and member of 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 ...

. He was previously the Labour member of parliament for

Stalybridge and Hyde Stalybridge and Hyde is a constituency in Greater Manchester that was created in 1918. The seat has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by Jonathan Reynolds of the Labour and Co-operative Party since ...

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 politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

. After the 2001 election he was elevated to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

on 4 July as Baron Pendry, of

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

in the County of Greater Manchester. He was president of the Football Foundation Ltd and was formerly sports advisor to Tameside District Council Sports Trust.

Early life

Pendry was born in

Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

on 10 June 1934. In an article in ''Cheshire Life'' magazine in June 2004, Pendry revealed that he was born in relatively comfortable circumstances, attending school at

St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey (founded as the Monastery of Ss Peter and Paul and changed after its founder St Augustine of Canterbury's death) was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a mon ...

and, later,

Plater College Plater College was an adult education establishment which was based in Oxford, England. College history The college was founded in 1921 by Father Leo O'Hea, S.J. (1881–1976), director of the Catholic Social Guild, in memory of the Father Ch ...

. He worked as a trade union officer for

NUPE Nupe or NUPE may refer to: *Nupe people, of Nigeria *Nupe language, their language * Nupe River, in the Huánuco Region, Peru * Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state *A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity in the Uni ...

, 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 counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and subsequently became part of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. He served as an

opposition 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 ...

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 (or Ladies) 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 ...

(assistant government whip) and subsequently as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Opposition

In 1979 he returned to the backbenches, 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.

Sport

Lord Pendry had a love of sport that he developed during

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or 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 ...

with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. He was appointed President of the

Football Foundation The Football Foundation is the United Kingdom's largest sports charity, channelling funding from the Premier League, The FA and the government (through Sport England) into transforming the landscape of grassroots sport in England. History Launc ...

in February 2003 and continued to serve in this capacity up until his death in 2023. A young Pendry learnt boxing at the hands of a

Benedictine monk The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...

, 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 University of Oxford, Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge universities in Eng ...

and boxing for the RAF.

Other interests

Pendry was 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.

Death

Pendry died on 26 February 2023, at the age of 88.

Honours and arms

On 21 July 1995, the Labour-controlled

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, also known as Tameside Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local govern ...

, 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 of

Mottram in Longdendale Mottram in Longdendale is a village in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, west of Hadfield and east of Hyde. Within the historic county of Cheshire, it became part of Greater Manchester in 1974. Mottram in Longdendale was an ancient par ...

. 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 Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921, Stalybridge Celti ...

, have named one of their stands ''The Lord Tom Pendry Stand''.

References

External links

The Stamford GroupArrowcroft plcThe Football FoundationTameside Sports Trust
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pendry, Thomas, Baron 1934 births 2023 deaths 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 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 Place of death missing