Tributes to footballer and union boss
May 22 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
TRIBUTES have been paid to former union leader Lord Tom Burlison, who died yesterday, aged 71. The Labour peer, who was discovered in his Gateshead apartment, had been deputy general secretary of the GMB, following three years as regional secretary.
His career with the Labour Party saw him become national treasurer in 1992 and following the general election in 1997 he was made Baron Burlison of Rowlands Gill.
Last night North Durham MP Kevan Jones led the tributes to the popular trade unionist, who is survived by his wife and three children.
He said: “It is very sad to know we are saying goodbye to Tom. He was dedicated to the Labour Party and the trade union movement and was one of the last big beasts on the left.
“He had a regional and national reach and was a household name at one point. He achieved a lot, not least his ability to hold the party together through the early 1990s.”
Alan Donnelly, former leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party, added his tribute.
He said: “The news of Tom Burlison’s death is a terrible shock and is a huge loss for his family.
“He played a massive role in the life of the North East during its most challenging years in the late 1970s and the 1980s yet was able to bridge the enormous divisions that resulted from the anti-union politics of the early 1980s.
“Membership of the House of Lords was a fitting reward for a man who did much to modernise both the trade union movement and the Labour Party.”
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said he was deeply saddened, adding: “He was a sturdy, down-to-earth trade unionist, deeply rooted in the North East working-class communities from which he sprang.
“As well as playing a major industrial role in his union, his canny political skills provided great service to the Labour Party. He will be very much missed.”
A panel beater by trade, Lord Burlison played football for Hartlepool United and Lincoln City in the 1950s and 1960s, before becoming active in the union movement in his native North-East, serving as regional secretary for many years.
He was also honorary life president of Hartlepool United FC.
A spokesman for the club said: “Not only was Lord Burlison a former player at the club, but he was someone who represented the town and the football club so honourably over the years in Parliament.
“When parliamentary duties allowed, Lord Burlison was a regular at Victoria Park and his presence at the ground will be missed.
“The news has come as a terrible shock to everyone at the club and we would like to offer our condolences to his family.”
He was a sturdy, down-to-earth trade unionist, deeply rooted in the North East
