Tony Woodley, Baron Woodley
Lord Temporal | |
|---|---|
| Assumed office 2 November 2020 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 January 1948 Wallasey, England |
| Political party | Labour |
Anthony Woodley, Baron Woodley (born 2 January 1948) is a
He was created a Labour life peer in November 2020 with the title Baron Woodley,[1] of Wallasey in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral,[2] after initially declining the peerage.[3]
Early life
Born in Wallasey, Cheshire (now Merseyside), he was educated at a secondary modern school on the Wirral. At the age of 15, he was taken on by the Ocean Steam Ship Company, working as a steward for four years. In 1967, he started working for Vauxhall Motors at Ellesmere Port, where he first joined the TGWU.
Trade unionist
In 1980, he was elected as a full-time union convenor; his father George had also been a union convenor at the plant for the National Union of Vehicle Builders. He was also appointed as a full-time district official of the TGWU in 1989, later becoming the National Officer of the Vehicle Building and Automotive Group, and was elected as TGWU Deputy General Secretary in 2002.
General Secretary
He first came to national prominence when, on 30 May 2003, he was elected to succeed
After his election he said in an interview with The Independent newspaper:
- "A priority for stronger unions in the workplace must be a repeal of the anti-union laws ... British employment laws make it easier and cheaper to sack workers than on the Continent. I will campaign to stop the scandal of British workers being the cannon fodder of Europe."
He later served as one of the two Joint-General Secretaries of Unite, which was formed after a merger between the TGWU and Amicus. He stepped down from this role in January 2011.
The Sun newspaper
At the 2009 Labour Party Conference, Woodley tore up a copy of The Sun newspaper as he made a speech.[4] This was following the paper's announcement that they would be supporting the Conservative Party at the subsequent general election, having backed the winning Labour Party at the previous three elections.
On tearing up the paper, he said:
- "In Liverpool, we learnt a long time ago what to do [tear the paper]. I suggest the rest of the country does the same thing."
This was a reference to The Sun's controversial reporting of the
Personal life
Woodley is also the President of Football Conference North side
References
- ^ "Contact information for Lord Woodley - MPS and Lords - UK Parliament". Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Crown Office | the Gazette". Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Ex-Unite leader Tony Woodley turns down peerage offered by Jeremy Corbyn". LabourList. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ "Union boss rips up copy of Sun". BBC News. 30 September 2009. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
External links
Video clips
- Greedy oil companies in 2008 on YouTube
