Trade unions He was employed by the
Trades Union Congress from 1970 to 1973 and the
General Municipal Boilermakers and Allied Trade Union from 1973 to 1985.
The Labour Party In 1985, Whitty became the
General Secretary of the Labour Party, a post he held until 1994. He was part of the reforming leadership of
Neil Kinnock; in the role progressed a wide-ranging agenda including the modification of internal rules, a shift towards a national membership scheme, the expulsion of
entryist Militant group members and, following the 1987 election defeat, the internal Policy Review. Whitty's period as General Secretary meant that he oversaw two general elections (the later in 1992), and the election of
John Smith and
Tony Blair as leaders of the party. He was the European Co-ordinator for the Labour Party from 1994 to 1997.
Peerage Whitty was created a
life peer on 21 October 1996 as
Baron Whitty,
of Camberwell in the London Borough of Southwark. From July 1998, Whitty was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the
Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions with responsibility for roads and road safety issues. From 1997 Lord Whitty was a Lord-in-Waiting (
Government Whip) covering education and foreign affairs. He became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at
DEFRA with responsibility for Farming, Food and Sustainable Energy in June 2001, serving in this position until the general election of May 2005.
Consumer Focus Whitty was appointed as the first Chairman of
Consumer Focus in July 2007. Consumer Focus was created through the merger of three organisations – energywatch, Postwatch and the National Consumer Council (including the Scottish and Welsh Consumer Councils) – by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007. ==Personal life==