Thomas Pendry, Baron Pendry, (born 10 June 1934) is a Labour Party politician and member of 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 Westminster ...

. He was previously the Labour member of parliament for

Stalybridge and Hyde Stalybridge and Hyde is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Jonathan Reynolds, a member of Labour Co-op. Constituency profile The constituency lies on the lower slopes of the Pennines and b ...

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 former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...

. After the 2001 election he was elevated to the peerage on 4 July as Baron Pendry, of

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and north-west of Glossop. When ...

in the County of

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tamesid ...

under the

Life Peerages Act 1958 The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Background This Act was made during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when Harold Macmillan was Prime ...

. He is president of the Football Foundation Ltd and was formerly sports advisor to Tameside District Council Sports Trust.

Early life

In an article in ''Cheshire Life'' magazine in June 2004, Pendry revealed that he was born in relatively comfortable circumstances 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 of ...

, Kent, attending school at

St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a monastery until its dissolution in 1538 during the English Reformation. After the abbey's dissolution, it underwent ...

. He worked as a trade union officer for

NUPE Nupe may refer to: *Nupe people, of Nigeria *Nupe language, their language *The Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state *A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity in the United States * National Union of Public Employees (N ...

, and as an engineer.

Political career

Pendry was a councillor on

Paddington Borough Council Paddington was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan B ...

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 and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...

, and subsequently became part of

. He served as an

opposition whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideolog ...

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 Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a Government agency, commission for the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer, Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord o ...

(assistant government whip) and subsequently as

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 o ...

for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

Opposition

In 1979 he returned to the

backbenches In Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Pala ...

, until he was appointed to the post of Shadow Minister for Sport and Tourism by

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

, 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 and arms

On 21 July 1995, the Labour-controlled

Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of ten in Greater Manchester and one of 36 in the metropolitan counti ...

, 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 Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as sei ...

Mottram in Longdendale Mottram in Longdendale is a village in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2011 census, the population for the ward of Longdendale, which includes Mottram and the surrounding area, was 9,950. Historically part of Cheshire, it lies in ...

. 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 Association football, 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 1 ...

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

Sport

Lord Pendry has a love of sport that he developed during

National Service National service is the system of 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 1939. The ...

with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. He was appointed president of the Football Foundation in February 2003 and continues to serve in this position. A young Pendry learnt boxing at the hands of a

Benedictine monk The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...

, 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 Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other ...

and boxing for the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

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.

References

External links

The Stamford GroupArrowcroft plcThe Football FoundationTameside Sports Trust
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pendry, Thomas, Baron 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 1934 births Living people 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