Tom Clarke (politician)
Labour MP for Coatbridge area from 1982 to 2015.
Sir Thomas Clarke (born 10 January 1941) is a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 1982 until 2015. He represented Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill from 2005 until losing his seat in the May 2015 general election.
Quick Facts
- Office
- Minister of State for Film and Tourism
- Prime minister
- Tony Blair
- Took office
- 4 May 1997
- Left office
- 29 July 1998
- Predecessor
- Nick Hawkins
- Successor
- Janet Anderson
- Born
- 10 January 1941
- Birthplace
- Coatbridge, Scotland
Facts from the source article.
Personal life
Tom Clarke grew up in Coatbridge, attending All Saints Primary in Airdrie and St Columba High in Coatbridge, before studying at the Scottish College of Commerce in Glasgow. His brother, Tony, went on to serve as a councillor for North Lanarkshire Council. A lifelong advocate for British cinema, Clarke worked as assistant director of the Scottish Council for Education Technology and, in 1971, became President of the British Amateur Cinematographers Central Council. That same year, he organised the Scottish International Amateur Film Festival and took on the role of deputy director of the Scottish Film Council. In 1973, he entered his short film Give Us a Goal in the amateur competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Clarke is a member of both the GMB union and the British Film Institute, where he also held a Governor position, and he chaired The Citizens Trust.
Career in local government
Tom Clarke got his start in politics at eighteen, working as election agent for Labour MP James Dempsey. By twenty-two, he was a councillor on Coatbridge Town Council, a role he took up in 1964, and in 1972 he became a Justice of the Peace for the Lanark area. After the town council was dissolved in 1975, he kept representing Coatbridge on the new Monklands District Council. From 1974 to 1982, he served three straight terms as Monklands Provost. He also held leadership roles in the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, serving as vice president from 1976 to 1978 and then as president until 1980.
Career in Parliament
Clarke was selected to contest the 1982 Coatbridge and Airdrie by-election caused by the death of James Dempsey, winning on 24 June 1982 with a majority of 10,090. He became known for work on disability issues and in 1986 sponsored the Disabled Persons (Services, Representation and Consultation) Act. After the 1987 general election, Neil Kinnock appointed him Shadow Minister for Personal Social Services from 1987 until 1992. Clarke then became a member of John Smith's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Scottish Secretary. He was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 1992 but later recovered. He became Shadow Minister for Overseas Development in 1993, left the Shadow Cabinet in 1994, and returned in 1995 as Shadow Minister for the Disabled until 1997 under Tony Blair. After the 1997 general election he joined the Privy Council and served as Minister of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport with responsibility for Film and Tourism; he was reportedly dismissed while visiting the film set of Notting Hill. Clarke authored the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006 and served as Treasurer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development. He was Treasurer of the All Party Group on Carers from 2005 until 2010 and Chair of the All-Party Group on Learning Disabilities. He served on the Administration Committee from 2008 until 2010, and later on the Standards and Privileges Committee and the Joint Committee reviewing the draft bill on Reform of the House of Lords. In 2014 he received £15,000 in damages for defamation from the Daily Mail.
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