William Manuel Morris was born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica, in 1938 and emigrated to Britain in 1954, settling in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, where he began work at the engineering firm Hardy Spicers.
Morris joined the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1958, was elected a shop steward in 1963, and rose steadily through the union's ranks over the following decades, becoming Deputy General Secretary in 1986.
In 1991 Morris was elected General Secretary of the T&G by a postal ballot of the membership, becoming the first Black leader of a major British trade union, a post he held until 2003 while championing minimum wage legislation and workplace equality.
Morris went on to serve as a non-executive director of the Bank of England, chaired an inquiry into employment practices at the Metropolitan Police, and was knighted before being made a life peer as Baron Morris of Handsworth in 2006.
I am not the black candidate, rather the candidate who is black.
Bill Morris's election as General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union broke new ground for Black representation in British trade unionism, and his subsequent roles at the Bank of England and in the House of Lords extended his influence well beyond the labour movement.
- 1938Born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica.
- 1954Emigrates to Britain, settling in Birmingham.
- 1958Joins the Transport and General Workers’ Union.
- 1991Elected General Secretary of the T&G, the first Black leader of a major British trade union.
- 1998Appointed non-executive director of the Bank of England.
- 2003Steps down as General Secretary; knighted.
- 2006Made a life peer as Baron Morris of Handsworth.
- ★ First Black leader of a major British trade union
- ★ Served as General Secretary of the T&G from 1991 to 2003
- ★ Non-executive director of the Bank of England, 1998–2006
- ★ Chaired an inquiry into employment practices at the Metropolitan Police
- ★ Made a life peer, Baron Morris of Handsworth, 2006