John Edward Tomlinson, Baron Tomlinson (born 1 August 1939), is a British

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

politician. He is currently a life peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, and was previously a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

from 1974 to 1979, and a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) from 1984 to 1999.

Early life

Born in London, Tomlinson was educated a
Westminster City School
and th
Co-operative College
in

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

. He later studied health services management at

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June ...

, and in 1982 he was awarded an MA in industrial relations from the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

Professional and early political career

Tomlinson was active in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

politics, secretary of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...

and an executive member of Yorkshire Labour Party. He was the youngest councillor on

Sheffield City Council Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under No Overall Con ...

from 1964. He worked as head of research for the

Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History The history of t ...

1968–70.

Parliamentary career

Tomlinson stood for Parliament without success in 1966 at

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 ...

and in 1970 at Walthamstow East. He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

as Labour Member of Parliament for Meriden in the February 1974 general election, defeating the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

MP Keith Speed. In the October 1974 General Election he retained the seat, defeating a new Conservative candidate, the former Chairman of the Highway Planning Committee in the London Borough of Hammersmith, and Chairman of the Hyde Park Tories (the Conservative Party's open air speakers) Christopher Horne. He lost his seat in the 1979 general election to the Conservative candidate, Iain Mills. During his five years in the Commons, he held a series of government posts: * Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Harold Wilson (1975–76); *

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister ...

, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1976–79); * Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Development (1977–79) After his defeat in 1979, he lectured at Solihull College of Technology. After unsuccessfully standing in the new constituency of North Warwickshire at the General lect held in June 1983, in 1984, Tomlinson was elected as Labour Co-operative

(MEP) for the new euro-constituency of Birmingham West. He was re-elected in the 1989 European election and in the 1994 election, but did not stand for re-election under the new list system in the 1999 election. On 21 July 1998, he was created a life peer as Baron Tomlinson, of

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

in the County of West Midlands. He is currently Chair of th
Association of Independent Higher Education Providers

References

Sources

*https://web.archive.org/web/20050608163239/http://european-convention.eu.int/CVs/pdf/TOMLINSON.pdf

External links

*
Voting Record — Lord Tomlinson
(Public Whip)

House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 22 July 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlinson, John 1939 births Living people Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Councillors in Sheffield Alumni of Brunel University London Alumni of the University of Warwick Labour Co-operative life peers UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 Labour Co-operative MEPs MEPs for England 1984–1989 MEPs for England 1989–1994 MEPs for England 1994–1999 Labour Party (UK) councillors Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Life peers created by Elizabeth II