Tony Clarke, Baron Clarke of Hampstead

Anthony James Clarke, Baron Clarke of Hampstead, CBE (called Tony;[1][2] born 17 April 1932) is an English trade unionist and Labour Party politician.

The Lord Clarke of Hampstead
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
29 July 1998
Life peerage
Personal details
Born
Anthony James Clarke

(1932-04-17) 17 April 1932 (age 92)
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour

Union roles

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A former telegraph boy and postman, in 1979 Clarke became a full-time official of the Union of Postal Workers, which in 1980 became the Union of Communication Workers (UCW). He edited the UPW journal The Post in 1979, and served as the UCW's Deputy General Secretary from 1981 to 1993.

Labour Party chairmanship

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He stood as a Labour Parliamentary candidate for Hampstead in the February and October 1974 general elections, losing both times to Geoffrey Finsberg. Clarke was a member of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee from 1983 to 1993, and served as Chairman of The Labour Party from 1992 to 1993.

House of Lords

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He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1998 New Year Honours.[3] He was created a life peer on 29 July 1998, as Baron Clarke of Hampstead, of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden.[4] He chaired the Taskforce established to investigate the causes of the disturbances in Burnley in 2001. After a period of being on leave of absence he returned to the Lords in April 2022.

References

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  1. ^ "Lord of Hampstead defies fellow Labour peers in House of Lords gay marriage vote", Ham & High, 14 June 2013.
  2. ^ Beckford, Martin (19 November 2009). "Lord Clarke of Hampstead admitted 'terrible error' : MPs' expenses". The Telegraph. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  3. ^ "No. 54993". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1997. p. 8.
  4. ^ "No. 55213". The London Gazette. 3 August 1998. p. 8431.
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Political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Labour Party
1992–1993
Succeeded by
Trade union offices
Preceded by Deputy General Secretary of the Union of Communication Workers
1982–1993
Succeeded by
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Clarke of Hampstead
Followed by