Thomas Stanley was a British Whig politician. He was 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,...

 (MP) for Lancashire

Lancashire (UK Parliament constituency)

Lancashire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...

 from February 1780

British general election, 1780

The British general election, 1780 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 15th Parliament of Great Britain to be held after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707...

 until he retired from the House of Commons at the 1812 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1812

The election to the 5th Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1812 was the fourth general election to be held after the Union of Great Britain and Ireland....

, having been elected unopposed at seven successive elections.

He was the son of the Revd Thomas Stanley and educated at Manchester Grammar School

Manchester Grammar School

The Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...

 and Trinity Hall, Cambridge

Trinity Hall, Cambridge

Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...

. He was described as being of Cross Hill, Lancashire.

In his long parliamentary career he spoke often in favour of the Lancashire cotton industry.

He died aged 67.