Tommy McAvoy

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Thomas McLaughlin McAvoy (born 14 December 1943, Glasgow) is a Scottish Labour Party politician and, since 1987, a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

McAvoy worked as a storeman at the Hoover factory in Cambuslang, and was a shop steward for the Amalgamated Engineering Union; following the succession of trade union mergers, he is now a member of Amicus. McAvoy and his wife Eleanor have four sons.

In 1982 McAvoy was elected to Strathclyde Regional Council, and served until elected to the U.K. Parliament in 1987 as the Labour Co-operative member for Glasgow, Rutherglen. Since 2005, he has sat as the member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

He was an opposition whip from 1990 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 1997. According to the The Guardian: "...[his] personal crusades have been for peace in Northern Ireland and against abortion" (Andrew Roth, The Guardian).

When the Labour Party came into government in 1997, McAvoy was appointed as Comptroller of HM Household, the third highest position in the Government Whips' office. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 2003. He has retained the same job since 1997, becoming one of the longest serving Comptrollers in history. McAvoy has achieved the rare feat among whips of remaining popular with Labour MPs. An early day motion in July 2006 noted "the difficult task he has of securing government business whilst accommodating the parliamentary, political and personal requirements of 352 Labour colleagues" and congratulated him for "the respect he has earned from all sides of the House for his ability to perform these duties"; it was signed by 135 MPs.[1]

[edit] External links

• Tommy McAvoy's official site
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Tommy McAvoy MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Tommy McAvoy MP
• BBC news profile

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by James Gregor Mackenzie	Member of Parliament for Glasgow Rutherglen 1987–2005	Succeeded by (constituency abolished)
Preceded by (new consttuency)	Member of Parliament for Rutherglen and Hamilton West 2005 – present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Timothy Wood	Comptroller of the Household 1997–present	Incumbent