In his final political role, Tony was interested in being ‘a positive voice for Rochdale’, a place he said could boast of ‘wonderful people, vibrant communities and a great future’. In his role as PCC and interim Greater Manchester mayor, he had already served Rochdale well, understanding the town’s diverse communities and bringing an established trust which helped him build on these relationships. Those who worked with him thought he appeared to have a mind like a sponge, remembering the names of locals he had met once some years before, and details of their families.
On a national scale, Tony was also appointed by Jeremy Corbyn as a shadow spokesperson on housing and then as shadow secretary for Northern Ireland, having previously campaigned as an MP against the Royal Ulster Constabulary’s use of rubber bullets. In an interview in The House magazine, Tony said the role was ‘more satisfactory’ than others, remembering that ‘years back I was the shadow transport minister and frankly I don’t imagine that anyone remembers anything I said, including me. Whereas there is something more real about the Northern Ireland role because you can be an advocate.’
The fallout from the 2019 election saw Tony adding shadow Scottish secretary to his brief, and when Keir Starmer became Labour leader, he was reappointed to Northern Ireland. However, he was soon to stand down after a serious bout of Covid-19 saw him spend 25 days in hospital, including 10 days in intensive care. True to form, he used his experiences to highlight the ‘enormous decency’ of NHS staff who sacrificed themselves for patients like him, and to express his hopes that the pandemic will help people to ‘realise that there’s more to life than the next Amazon package’.
His 2024 new year message in the Rochdale Observer, published four days before his death, selflessly covered events in Gaza, staff morale in the NHS, climate change and heaped praise on Rochdale’s sixth form colleges. In the last weeks before Christmas in the Commons, he spoke on arms exports to Israel, on Rwanda, and his concerns about private renting and the use of pre-payment meters.
He was knighted in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2021 and was reselected as Labour’s candidate for Rochdale for the next general election. For the book Men Who Made Labour, published in 2006 to mark the centenary of the adoption of the Labour party name in parliament, he wrote two chapters, on John Robert Clynes and George Kelley, elected as Manchester MPs in 1906.
In an interview recorded by pupils of Falinge Park High School in Rochdale, Tony gave brilliant advice for any student hoping to become a politician, and one any new MP should listen to:
“Politics is all about people. It’s that sense of human solidarity that matters. If it’s not about making people’s lives better, then don’t be a politician.“
Tony Lloyd MP
Tony Lloyd 