Farewell to footballer who played crucial union role
Graeme Hetherington
TRIBUTES have been made to leading parliamentarian and former North-East footballer Lord Tom Burlison, who has died aged 71.
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The Northern Echo
The staunch trade unionist was understood to have been found dead in his London flat at the weekend.

Born in Edmondsley, four miles north-west of Durham, Lord Burlison began his career as a panel beater and became a life peer in Tony Blair's first induction to the House of Lords in 1997.

He was a former deputy general secretary of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers' (now the GMB) and Allied Trade Union.

Following a period as treasurer of the Labour Party, he was made Baron Burlison of Rowlands Gill.

But before he embarked on his political career, between 1953 and 1965 he was a professional footballer. He played almost 200 games for Hartlepool United as a winger and 30 matches for Darlington.

Ken Hodcroft, chairman of Hartlepool United, praised his contribution to the club as its honorary life president.

He was regular at Victoria Park and went to the club's final League One home game of the season against Nottingham Forest.

Mr Hodcroft said: "Many times Tom would finish in the House and travel north to be at midweek games.

"I will particularly miss Tom on matchdays as he was always positive about results - win, lose or draw - and always had good opinions about the team selection and tactics used.

David Bowles, chairman of Northern Defence Industries, of which Lord Burlison was a patron, said the region had lost a great man.

He said: "I feel great privilege to have known Tom and to have worked with him for a number of years.

"He was very proud of the North-East and he fought hard to promote the area. He did an enormous amount of work to bridge the gap between the private sector and trade unions."

Lord David Clark of Windermere, also a patron of Northern Defence Industries, said: "He was a great chap and a very good colleague for whom I had the utmost respect and admiration.

"Tom worked assiduously for the good of the region throughout a long career, and he will be sadly missed by those whose lives he touched."

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said 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 said.

Alan Donnelly, former leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party, said: "Tom played an important role in guiding my early career at the GMB and in politics.

"He played a massive role in the life of the North-East during its most challenging years, yet was able to bridge the divisions that resulted from the anti-union politics of the early Eighties.

"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.

"His stabilising influence through turbulent times ensured that Labour in the North-East always remained electable and helped lay the foundations for Labour's success in 1997."