Lord Mcavoy
Scottish Labour politician who as a tough but fair whip earned respect from all sides in Parliament
LORD MCAVOY, who has died aged 81, was called a “legend of the Labour whips’ office” having served 17 years as a whip in the Commons and 10 in the House of Lords, ultimately as chief whip; his 13 years and 10 days in the government whips’ office (1997-2010) is a record unlikely to be broken.
Burly and no-nonsense, but fair, Tommy Mcavoy was accorded a remarkable accolade for a whip when, in 2006, 135 Labour MPS signed a motion noting “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”.
Mcavoy was also for 23 years an assiduous constituency MP for his native Rutherglen. In the early 1990s he waged a successful campaign with his Liberal Democrat opponent Robert Brown for a referendum on taking the historic burgh out of Glasgow and reuniting it with Lanarkshire.
“It was a mini devolution,” he recalled. “There was a broad feeling in Rutherglen that we weren’t being treated as well as we should have been. It culminated in a rally in the Old Parish Church in Main Street where over 1,000 people attended. In the referendum, people voted overwhelmingly to leave Glasgow. It was a magnificent victory. I’ve been involved in a lot of campaigns in politics, but that was the most satisfying.” While as a whip Mcavoy’s speaking opportunities – at least while in the Commons – were limited, he gave full vent to his views during his short time on the back benches.
Strongly opposed to abortion and a sceptic over Europe, he passionately supported the Northern Ireland peace process and opposed electricity privatisation – once it became inevitable, he pressed for a different pricing structure for Scottish consumers.
Thomas Laughlin Mcavoy was born at Rutherglen on Decemeber 14 1943 to Edward Mcavoy, a steelworks labourer, and the former Frances Mclaughlin. His brother Eddie would be the leader of South Lanarkshire Council for 18 years.
Tommy was educated at St Columbkille’s primary and secondary schools; Bobby Murdoch, later one of Celtic’s European Cup-winning “Lisbon lions”, was a particular friend. His wife grew up six doors away.
Leaving school, he worked first at a Glasgow pawnbroker’s, then in a grocery shop. He left both jobs because Saturday working stopped him watching his beloved Celtic.
In 1974, he landed a job as an engineering store-man at the Hoover factory in Cambuslang, soon becoming a shop steward for the Amalgamated Engineering Union (today part of Unite the Union). He also got involved in community politics, chairing the Federation of Tenants’ Associations, Rutherglen Community Council and, later, the Glasgow Deprivation Group.
In 1982 he was elected to Strathclyde Regional Council, and when the Labour veteran Gregor Mackenzie retired as MP for Rutherglen five years later, Mcavoy was chosen to succeed him.
At the 1987 general election he took the seat by 13,995 votes over Robert Brown. Soon after, Mcavoy told the Commons of senior citizens having broken down in tears “when informed of cuts made to their housing benefit”. He first entered the whips’ office in 1990, appointed by Neil Kinnock.
Kinnock’s successor as Labour leader, John Smith, dropped Mcavoy three years later, but when Labour swept to power in 1997 Tony Blair appointed him Comptroller of the Royal Household, the third most senior whip. His skills were fully taxed trying to find work at Westminster for the 418 Labour MPS who vastly outnumbered the other parties.
He served as Comptroller for 11 years – being appointed to the Privy Council in 2003 – before Gordon Brown in 2008 promoted him to Deputy Chief Whip. He stood down as MP for Rutherglen (since 2005 combined with Hamilton West) in 2010, Labour holding the seat with a 21,000 majority.
Created a life peer, Mcavoy was a whip again within weeks – in the Lords, and in opposition after Gordon Brown’s election defeat. One of several speaking whips, he combined gently keeping the Labour peers in line with being a spokesman on Scottish affairs – the SNP capturing Rutherglen in 2015 – and Northern Ireland.
Jeremy Corbyn appointed him Deputy Chief Whip in 2015, and in 2018 – at last – Opposition Chief Whip. He stood down in 2021, but remained active in the Lords. He was appointed KBE in 2022. Mcavoy married, in 1968, Eleanor Kerr; she survives him, with their four sons.
Tommy Mcavoy, born February 14 1943, death announced March 8 2024