Tom Clarke (politician)

Thomas Clarke, CBE, JP, KSG (born 10 January 1941) is a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1982 until 2015, representing Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill from 2005 until losing his seat to Philip Boswell of the SNP in the May 2015 general election.

The Right Honourable

Tom Clarke

CBE JP KSG
Clarke in 2011
Minister of State for Film and Tourism
In office
4 May 1997 – 29 July 1998
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byNick Hawkins
Succeeded byJanet Anderson
Shadow Minister for Disabled People
In office
19 October 1995 – 4 May 1997
LeaderTony Blair
Preceded byBarry Sheerman (1994)
Succeeded byAngela Browning
Shadow Minister for Overseas Development
In office
21 October 1993 – 12 October 1994
LeaderJohn Smith
Margaret Beckett (Acting)
Tony Blair
Preceded byMichael Meacher
Succeeded byJoan Lestor
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
In office
18 July 1992 – 12 October 1993
LeaderJohn Smith
Preceded byDonald Dewar
Succeeded byGeorge Robertson
Member of Parliament
for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
Coatbridge and Chryston (1997–2005)
Monklands West (1983–1997)
Coatbridge and Airdrie (1982–1983)
In office
24 June 1982 – 30 March 2015
Preceded byJames Dempsey
Succeeded byPhil Boswell
Personal details
Born (1941-01-10) 10 January 1941
Coatbridge, United Kingdom
Political partyLabour
Alma materScottish College of Commerce

Personal life

Clarke was born in Coatbridge and was educated at All Saints Primary School in Airdrie and St Columba High School in Coatbridge, followed by the Scottish College of Commerce in Glasgow.[1] His brother, Tony, later become a councillor on North Lanarkshire Council.[2]

Clarke has long been a strong supporter of British film making and was an Assistant Director of the Scottish Council for Education Technology and was also the President of the British Amateur Cinematographers Central Council in 1971.[3] He then became a Deputy Director of the Scottish Film Council[4] and was the organiser of the Scottish International Amateur Film Festival in 1971.[5]

In 1973 Clarke submitted his short film, "Give Us a Goal" to the amateur section of the Cannes Film Festival.[6] He is a member of the GMB and British Film Institute[7] as well as being the chairman of The Citizens Trust.[8]

Career in Local Government

Clarke's political career began at the age of 18 when he was the election agent for the Labour MP James Dempsey.[9] Aged 22 he then served as a councillor on the Coatbridge Town Council from 1964 and he became a Justice of the Peace for the Lanark area in 1972.[10] The Coatbridge Town Council was replaced with the Monklands District Council in 1975 where Clarke continued to serve Coatbridge. He then served as the Monklands Provost (Mayor) for three consecutive terms from 1974 until 1982.[1] He served as the Vice President of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities from 1976 until 1978 and served as President of the Convention from 1978 until 1980.[5]

Career in Parliament

Clarke was selected to contest the 1982 Coatbridge and Airdrie by-election caused by the death of the sitting Labour MP James Dempsey. He won the by-election on 24 June 1982 with a majority of 10,090. Clarke became known quite quickly in parliament for his work on issues surrounding disabled people and in 1986 he sponsored the 'Disabled Persons (Services, Representation and Consultation) Act'.[11]

After the 1987 general election, Neil Kinnock appointed him Shadow Minister for Personal Social Services from 1987, in which role he served until 1992.[10] Clarke then became a member of the Shadow Cabinet of John Smith as Shadow Scottish Secretary. Clarke was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 1992 but has since recovered.[12] He then became the Shadow Minister for Overseas Development in 1993. Clarke left the Shadow Cabinet in 1994 and returned in 1995 to serve as Shadow Minister for the Disabled until 1997 under the leadership of Tony Blair.[10][13]

Following the 1997 general election he joined the Privy Council[14] and served as a Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport with responsibility for Film and Tourism. He was reportedly dismissed from the role in a major government reshuffle whilst visiting the film set of Notting Hill.

Clarke was the current Treasurer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development[15] and authored the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006, which ensures that the Secretary of State for International Development reports on what the Department for International Development spends in total on international aid and is categorised into what proportion is spent upon low-income countries, the effectiveness of current spending and the level of transparency of international aid. The Act is also used as a guide to establish the current progress upon United Nations Millennium Development Goals.[16]

He served as the Treasurer of the All Party Group on Carers from 2005 until 2010 and is the current Chair of the All Party Group on Learning Disabilities.[17]

Clarke served on the Administration Committee from 2008 until 2010. In the following parliament he was a member of the Standards and Privileges Committee and the Joint Committee reviewing the draft bill on Reform of the House of Lords.[18] In 2014 Clarke received £15,000 in damages for defamation in the Daily Mail which incorrectly claimed he was involved in the decision to reduce the amount of expenses that MP Maria Miller should repay, motivated by his own expenses claims.[19]

Whilst Clarke voted for the Civil Partnership Act, which gave same sex couples identical civil law rights that married couples have, he voted against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which eventually was passed with cross-party support.[20]

Honours

Clarke was awarded a CBE for services to Local Government in 1980.[21]

Sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 20th May 1997

In 2016 Clarke was awarded with a Papal Knighthood and an audience with Pope Francis for his work on International Development and Disability Rights.[22]

Footnotes
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 July 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Tributes to North Lanarkshire councillor Tony Clarke". BBC News. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Scottish Screen Archive". nls.uk.
  5. "WPR - Tom Clarke MP". parliamentaryrecord.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  6. Brown, Rob (7 July 1997). "At last, a cineaste in Westminster". The Independent. London, UK. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  7. "WPR - Tom Clarke MP". parliamentaryrecord.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012.
  8. Henry. "The Citizens Trust". thecitizenstrust.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  9. "Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill". scotlandvotes.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. The Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 (Commencement No. 1) Order 1987 Archived 21 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine, SI 1987/564 (C. 28).
  12. "MPs call for action on ME". BBC News. 12 May 1999. Archived from the original on 11 August 2003. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
  13. Davies, P. W.; MacIntyre, D. (20 October 1995). "Blair turns tables in front bench 'clearout'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  14. "Privy Counsellors". independent.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  15. "Executive - All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development". apgood.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  16. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123161400/http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/History1/International-Development-Reporting-and-Transparency-Act-2006/
  17. "WPR - Tom Clarke MP". parliamentaryrecord.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012.
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. William Turvill (9 July 2014). "Daily Mail in £15k libel payout to MP wrongly implicated in expenses wrongdoing". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  20. George Eaton, "Labour and Lib Dem MPs who voted against gay marriage: full list" Archived 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, New Statesman, 06-02-2013. Last retrieved 26 August 2013.
  21. "The Rt Hon Tom Clarke, CBE, MP Authorised Biography - Debrett's People of Today". debretts.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012.
  22. "Papal knighthood for former Labour MP". BBC News. 29 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
Articles
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
James Dempsey		 Member of Parliament
for Coatbridge and Airdrie
1982–1983		 Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament
for Monklands West
1983–1997
Member of Parliament
for Coatbridge and Chryston
1997–2005
Member of Parliament
for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
2005–2015		 Succeeded by
Phil Boswell
Political offices
Preceded by
Donald Dewar		 Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
1992–1993		 Succeeded by
George Robertson
Preceded by
Michael Meacher		 Shadow Minister for Overseas Development
1993–1994		 Succeeded by
Joan Lestor
Vacant
Title last held by
Barry Sheerman		 Shadow Minister for Disabled People
1995–1997		 Succeeded by
Angela Browning
Preceded by
Nick Hawkins		 Minister of State for Film and Tourism
1997–1998		 Succeeded by
Janet Anderson
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