A former secretary of the Ashton and District Weavers Association was widely praised for his efficient, even-handed chairing of the TUC’s centenary congress in Blackpool.
Lord Wright of Ashton (born Lewis Wright) presided over debates stoked by union members’ simmering resentment and anger at the Labour government’s prices and incomes policy.
On a lighter note, the conference opened with a civic welcome to Lord Wright and the hundreds of delegates and officials in the hall from another Ashtonian - the Mayor of Blackpool, Alderman Jean Robinson.
