Tom Pendry

Thomas Pendry, Baron Pendry, PC (born 10 June 1934[1]) is a Labour politician and member of the House of Lords. 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. After the 2001 election he was elevated to the peerage on 4 July as Baron Pendry, of Stalybridge in the County of Greater Manchester[2] under the Life Peerages Act 1958. He is president of the Football Foundation Ltd and was formerly sports advisor to Tameside District Council Sports Trust.[3][4]

The Right Honourable

The Lord Pendry

PC
Pendry in 2020
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
In office
11 November 1978 – 4 May 1979
Prime MinisterJames Callaghan
Sec. of StateRoy Mason
Preceded byRaymond Carter
Succeeded byThe Lord Elton
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
8 March 1974 – 11 January 1977
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
James Callaghan
ChancellorDenis Healey
Preceded byMarcus Fox
Succeeded byTom Cox
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
11 July 2001
Life Peerage
Member of Parliament
for Stalybridge and Hyde
In office
18 June 1970 – 14 May 2001
Preceded byFred Blackburn
Succeeded byJames Purnell
Personal details
Born (1934-06-10) 10 June 1934
Broadstairs, Kent, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour

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.[5] He worked as a trade union officer for NUPE, 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.[6] He was elected to Parliament in 1970 for Stalybridge and Hyde, which at the time covered areas in Cheshire and Lancashire, and subsequently became part of Greater Manchester. He served as an opposition whip 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 (assistant government whip) and subsequently as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

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.

Honours

On 21 July 1995, the Labour-controlled Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, 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.[7] At the same time, the council granted him the lordship of the manor of Mottram in Longdendale. Tameside Council have also named part of Trinity Street in front of the old Stalybridge market hall, Lord Pendry Square.[8] A local soccer club, Stalybridge Celtic, have named one of their stands The Lord Tom Pendry Stand.[9]

Sport

Lord Pendry has a love of sport that he developed during National Service with the Royal Air Force. He was appointed president of the Football Foundation in February 2003 and continues to serve in this position.[10] A young Pendry learnt boxing at the hands of a Benedictine monk, becoming an Oxford Blue and boxing for the RAF.

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.[11]

References
  1. "Birthday's today". The Telegraph. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014. Lord Pendry 79
  2. "No. 56268". The London Gazette. 9 July 2001. p. 8071.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 May 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Lord Pendry - UK Parliament". www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Harrow Road South Ward 1956-1965". Westminster City Council Election Results. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  7. http://www.tameside.gov.uk/mayor/freemen
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Stalybridge Celtic - pictures". Stalybridge Celtic F.C. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  10. "About Us". Football Foundation. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  11. "Lord Pendry - UK Parliament". www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Fred Blackburn		 Member of Parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde
1970–2001		 Succeeded by
James Purnell
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
The Lord Morris of Aberavon		 Gentlemen
Baron Pendry 		Followed by
The Lord Campbell-Savours

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