John Tomlinson, Baron Tomlinson
Encyclopedia
John Edward Tomlinson, Baron Tomlinson (born 1 August 1939), is a British
Labour Co-operative
politician. He is currently a life peer
in the House of Lords
, and was previously a Member of Parliament
from 1974 to 1979, and an Member of the European Parliament
(MEP) from 1984 to 1999.
Born in London, Tomlinson was educated at Westminster City School and the Co-operative College in Loughborough
. He later studied health services management at Brunel University
, and in 1982 he was awarded an MA in industrial relations from the University of Warwick
.
Tomlinson was active in Yorkshire
politics, secretary of Sheffield
Co-operative Party
and an executive member of Yorkshire Labour Party
. He was the youngest councillor on Sheffield City Council
from 1964. He worked as head of research for the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers
1968-70.
Tomlinson stood for Parliament without success in 1966 at Bridlington
and was elected to the House of Commons
as Labour
Member of Parliament for Meriden
in the February 1974 general election
, defeating the sitting Conservative
MP Keith Speed
. 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:
After his defeat in 1979, he lectured at Solihull College of Technology.
In 1984, Tomlinson was elected as Labour Co-operative Member of the European Parliament
(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
.
In 1998, he was made a life peer as Baron Tomlinson, of Walsall in the County of West Midlands.
He is currently Chair of the Association of Independent Higher Education Providers
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Co-operative
Labour Co-operative
Labour and Co-operative describes those candidates in British elections standing on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, based on a national agreement between the two parties....
politician. He is currently a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, and was previously a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
from 1974 to 1979, and an Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEP) from 1984 to 1999.
Born in London, Tomlinson was educated at Westminster City School and the Co-operative College in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
. He later studied health services management at Brunel University
Brunel University
Brunel University is a public research university located in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. The university is named after the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel....
, and in 1982 he was awarded an MA in industrial relations from the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
.
Tomlinson was active in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
politics, secretary of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
Co-operative Party
Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative principles. The party does not put up separate candidates for any UK election itself. Instead, Co-operative candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as "Labour...
and an executive member of Yorkshire Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He was the youngest councillor on Sheffield City Council
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...
from 1964. He worked as head of research for the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers
Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union
The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union was a British trade union. It merged with the MSF to form Amicus in 2001.The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the "Old Mechanics" of 1826, which grew into the Amalgamated Society of Engineers in 1851...
1968-70.
Tomlinson stood for Parliament without success in 1966 at Bridlington
Bridlington (UK Parliament constituency)
Bridlington was a constituency in East Yorkshire, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the 1997 general election....
and was elected to the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
as Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Member of Parliament for Meriden
Meriden (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
in the February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
, defeating the sitting Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP Keith Speed
Keith Speed
Sir Herbert "Keith" Speed, RD, DL is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom and former Member of Parliament. He is a descendant of cartographer and historian John Speed....
. He lost his seat in the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
to the Conservative candidate, Iain Mills
Iain Mills
Iain Campbell Mills was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom.Mills was educated in southern Africa, and subsequently worked as a Market Planning Executive for Dunlop...
.
During his five years in the Commons, he held a series of government posts:
- Parliamentary Private SecretaryParliamentary Private SecretaryA Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) to Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Harold WilsonHarold WilsonJames Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
(1975–76); - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of StateParliamentary Under-Secretary of StateA Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
, Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeForeign and Commonwealth OfficeThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
(1976–79); - Parliamentary SecretaryParliamentary SecretaryA Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties.In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to...
, Ministry of Overseas DevelopmentDepartment for International DevelopmentThe Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
(1977–79)
After his defeat in 1979, he lectured at Solihull College of Technology.
In 1984, Tomlinson was elected as Labour Co-operative Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEP) for the new euro-constituency
European Parliament constituency
Members of the European Parliament are elected by the population of the member states of the European Union , divided into constituencies....
of Birmingham West. He was re-elected in the 1989 European election
European Parliament election, 1989 (UK)
The European Parliament Election, 1989 was the third European election to be held in the United Kingdom. It was held on 15 June. The electoral system was First Past the Post in England, Scotland and Wales and Single Transferable Vote in Northern Ireland. The turnout was again the lowest in Europe...
and in the 1994 election
European Parliament election, 1994 (UK)
The European Parliament Election, 1994 was the fourth European election to be held in the United Kingdom. It was held on 9 June, though, as usual, the ballots were not counted until the evening of 12 June. The electoral system was, for the final European election, First Past the Post in England,...
, but did not stand for re-election under the new list system in the 1999 election
European Parliament election, 1999 (UK)
The European Parliament Election, 1999 was the UK part of the European Parliament election 1999. It was held on 10 June. It was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom using a system of proportional representation. The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 introduced the...
.
In 1998, he was made a life peer as Baron Tomlinson, of Walsall in the County of West Midlands.
He is currently Chair of the Association of Independent Higher Education Providers
External links
- Voting Record — Lord Tomlinson (Public Whip)
- Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 22 July 1998
Sources
- http://european-convention.eu.int/CVs/pdf/TOMLINSON.pdf