Ray Collins is a life peer and trade unionist who was General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2008 to 2011,where he was responsible for the Party’s organisation, including finances. He was an Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union from 1999 and in 2007 helped steer the union in to a merger with Amicus, creating Unite.
In January 2011, he was created a life peer and was appointed an Opposition Whip. Between January 2012 and January 2013 he was also an Opposition Spokesperson for Work and Pensions. He is currently Labour’s spokesperson for International Development in the Lords and Opposition Whip covering DCMS.
Ray has a keen interest in continuing education and is a member of the Governing Body of Ruskin College, Oxford. He is Patron of LGBT Labour and Patron of Positive East London’s leading community-based HIV charity, providing services for people living with HIV or affected by HIV.
In his free time, Ray enjoys speaking Spanish and a nice glass of wine – sometimes at the same time!
For more information, read Ray's Parliamentary biography - available here.
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