Tom Burlison was the first professional footballer to take a seat in the House of Lords.
17 Facts About Tom Burlison
1.
2.
Tom Burlison was born in Edmondsley, County Durham, the son of a miner, Robert Tom Burlison, and his wife, Georgina.
3.
Tom Burlison was educated in Edmondsley and worked as a panel beater from 1951 to 1957, joining the General and Municipal Workers' Union.
4.
Tom Burlison was a professional footballer from 1953 to 1965.
5.
Tom Burlison became a regional officer of the GMB in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1965, and regional secretary in 1978.
6.
Tom Burlison's staff included former Labour ministers Nick Brown and Doug Henderson, and former MEP and Labour leader in the European parliament Alan Donnelly.
7.
Tom Burlison was involved in the selection of many Labour MPs, including Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson.
8.
Tom Burlison was involved in the negotiations in 1982 to merge the GMWU with the Boilermakers to form the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union.
9.
Tom Burlison was runner-up behind John Edmonds in the election for general secretary of the GMB in 1985.
10.
The GMB merged with APEX in 1989 for form the GMB Union, and Tom Burlison served as deputy general secretary of the merged union from 1991 to 1996.
11.
Tom Burlison was treasurer of the Labour Party from 1992 to 1996.
12.
Tom Burlison was chairman of the TUC northern region for nine years.
13.
Tom Burlison was a trustee of the Board of Governors of the University of Northumbria, a Deputy Lieutenant and Honorary President of Hartlepool United.
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Tom Burlison was an important moderniser on Labour's National Executive Committee in the years before the party's landslide victory at the 1997 general election.
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Tom Burlison was a working peer, and was a Lord in Waiting from 1999 to 2001.
16.
Tom Burlison lived in Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear, for at least 20 years.
17.
Tom Burlison died in Gateshead on 20 May 2008 at the age of 71.