- Tom Pendry, Baron Pendry
Thomas Pendry, Baron Pendry PC (born
10 June 1934 ) is a Labour politician and member of theHouse of Lords . He was previously the Labour member of parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde from1970 to2001 . In2000 , prior to his retirement as an MP he was made a member of the Privy council on the recommendation ofTony Blair . After the 2001 election he was elevated to thepeerage as Baron Pendry, of Stalybridge in the County ofGreater Manchester under theLife Peerages Act 1958 .In an article in Cheshire Life in June 2004, Pendry reveals that he was born in relatively comfortable circumstances in
Broadstairs , Kent, attending school atSt Augustine's Abbey . [http://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/692.htm 2] He worked as a trade union officerNUPE and engineer before being elected to Parliament in 1970.He served as an opposition whip between 1971 and 1974.
Callaghan government
In Callaghan's administration between 1976 and 1979 Pendry served as a junior
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (assistant government whip) and subsequently asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland .Opposition
In 1979 he returned to the
backbenches until he was appointed to the post of Shadow Minister for Sport and Tourism by Rt. Hon. John Smith, MP, a position he held until 1997.Honours
In 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. At the same time, the council granted him the Lordship of the Manor ofMottram in Longdendale . Tameside Council have named part of Trinity Street in front of the old Stalybridge market hall, [http://www.tameside.gov.uk/districtassembly/stalybridge/achievements.pdf Lord Pendry Square] . The square contains the statue ofJack Judge Stalybridge Celtic have also named one of their stands to [http://www.stalybridgeceltic.co.uk/Pictures/MainPanePicsGround.htm "The Lord Tom Pendry Stand"] .
Blair government
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.
port
Lord Pendry has a love of sport that he developed during national service with the RAF. He was appointed the President of the Football Foundation in February 2003 and he continues to serve in this position. A young Pendry learnt boxing at he hands of a Benadictine monk and became an Oxford Blue and [http://www.westminstervillage.co.uk/archives/archive_2006-w02.php boxed for the RAF] .
References
The football foundation appointment [http://www.footballfoundation.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/?EntryId=4567] BBC reference to Pendry's education [http://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/692.htm 2]
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