Tom McNally, Baron McNally

The Right Honourable The Lord McNally PC
Minister of State for Justice
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 May 2010
Prime Minister	David Cameron
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 November 2004
Leader	Charles Kennedy Sir Menzies Campbell Vince Cable (acting) Nick Clegg
Preceded by	The Baroness Williams of Crosby
Personal details
Born	(1943-02-20) 20 February 1943
Nationality	British
Political party	Liberal Democrats

Tom McNally, Baron McNally, PC (born 20 February 1943) is a British politician and the current Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and a Minister of State for Justice.

Early life

McNally was born in Blackpool of Irish Catholic descent where he attended St Joseph's College, Blackpool. He later attended University College London, where he was elected president of the Debating Society as well as University College London Union President.

Professional career

He later worked for the Fabian Society, and then as a full-time employee of the Labour Party, becoming its international secretary. He served as a political advisor to Foreign Secretary, James Callaghan during the conflict in Cyprus in the 1970s, before becoming head of the Prime Minister's political office at Downing Street when Callaghan succeeded Harold Wilson.^{[citation needed]}

Political career

Elected to the House of Commons in 1979 as a member of the Labour Party for the constituency of Stockport South, in 1981 he was one of the later defectors to the new Social Democratic Party. Following constituency boundary changes for the 1983 general election McNally was the SDP candidate for the new constituency of Stockport, but finished in third place behind Labour and the Conservative victor, Tony Favell. He has been President of the Stockport Liberal Democrat Constituency Party since 2007. From 1993 he was Head of Public Affairs at Shandwick Consultants. On 18 November 1995 it was announced he would receive a life peerage. The Letters Patent were issued on 20 December and he took the title Baron McNally, of Blackpool in the County of Lancashire.

He took office as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords at the beginning of the 2004/05 session of Parliament after being elected unopposed to succeed Baroness Williams of Crosby.

In January 2006, McNally was linked to the resignation of Charles Kennedy, with critical comments regarding Kennedy's leadership of the party, and the effect that infighting was having on their electoral prospects in the upcoming local elections in May.^{[citation needed]} Lord McNally criticised Kennedy, suggesting that his style and content were lacklustre.^{[citation needed]} On 21 January, Lord McNally revealed in an interview that he had himself been alcohol dependent in the 1980s. He said, "I don't think the passing of a more boozy, ill-disciplined, ill-researched type of politics is to be regretted at all." Friends noted that it had been quite a struggle for McNally (and his then-wife, Eileen) but that he had successfully stayed on the wagon since and, after remarrying, had forged a happy life, living in St Albans.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2010, following the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government, Lord McNally was appointed Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, under Kenneth Clarke.

A current criticism of McNally is his blocking of an official pardon of mathematician Alan Turing on indecency charges, because he says that Turing was correctly targeted under the UK's 1950s laws.

He is a Vice-President of the Debating Group.

Family

Lord McNally is married with two sons and one daughter.

See also

• Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team

External links

• Lord McNally profile at libdems.org.uk

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Maurice Orbach	Member of Parliament for Stockport South 1979–1983	Constituency abolished
Party political offices
Preceded by The Baroness Williams of Crosby	Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords 2004–present	Incumbent