John Edmonds (trade unionist)

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John Edmonds (born 28 January 1944) is a British former trade union official.

Edmonds grew up in South London, and was educated at Christ's Hospital School and Oriel College, Oxford. On graduation, he found work as a research assistant with the National Union of General and Municipal Workers, moving on to become a field officer, then a National Industrial Officer. [1]

In 1986, Edmonds became General Secretary of the union, by then known as the GMB. In this role, he became known as a critic of Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. He stood down as leader in 2003, one year ahead of schedule. [2] In retirement, he has remained active in the Labour Party in south and west London.

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References

  1. Stuart Thomson, "John (Walter) Edmonds Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine "
  2. Ben Russell, "Edmonds to step down as GMB leader a year early", The Independent , 29 October 2002
Trade union offices
Preceded by National Industrial Officer of the National Union of General and Municipal Workers
1971 1986
Succeeded by
Preceded by General Secretary of the GMB
1986–2003
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Trades Union Congress
1998
Succeeded by