Tommy McAvoy

The Lord McAvoy
Official portrait, 2019
Opposition Chief Whip of the House of Lords
In office
25 January 2018 – 31 May 2021
Leader
Preceded byThe Lord Bassam of Brighton
Succeeded byThe Lord Kennedy of Southwark
Opposition Deputy Chief Whip in House of Lords
In office
27 May 2015 – 24 January 2018
Serving with Denis Tunnicliffe
LeaderJeremy Corbyn
Preceded byThe Baroness Smith of Basildon
In office
5 October 2008 – 11 May 2010
Prime MinisterGordon Brown
Preceded byNick Brown
Succeeded byJohn Randall
Comptroller of the Household
In office
2 May 1997 – 5 October 2008
Prime Minister
Preceded byTimothy Wood
Succeeded byJohn Spellar
In office
22 June 2010 – 8 March 2024
Life peerage
Member of Parliament
for Rutherglen and Hamilton West
Glasgow Rutherglen (1987–2005)
In office
11 June 1987 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byGregor Mackenzie
Succeeded byTom Greatrex
Personal details
Born(1943-12-14)14 December 1943
Rutherglen, Scotland
Died8 March 2024(2024-03-08) (aged 80)
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour and Co-operative
SpouseEleanor McAvoy
Children4

Thomas McLaughlin McAvoy, Baron McAvoy, KBE, PC (14 December 1943 – 8 March 2024) was a British Labour and Co-operative politician serving as a life peer in the House of Lords from 2010 until his death in 2024.[1] He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Rutherglen from 1987 to 2005, and Rutherglen and Hamilton West from 2005 to 2010.

McAvoy held several positions in the Government Whips' Office under the Blair and Brown governments, serving as Comptroller of the Household from 1997 to 2008 and Treasurer of the Household from 2008 to 2010. He entered the Lords after choosing not to seek re-election to the Commons, where he served as an opposition spokesperson for Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as a senior whip. McAvoy held the position of Lords opposition chief whip from 2018 to 2021 after serving as Deputy Chief Whip from 2015 to 2018.

  1. ^ "Former whip Tommy McAvoy takes seat in House of Lords". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2013.