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Education
He was educated at Bromsgrove School where he was Head Boy, and read Law at University College London, graduating with an upper second class honours.
At the CBI
Jones was chairman of the CBI's West Midlands Regional Council and became the first serving regional chairman to be appointed director-general. He was Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) between 1 January 2000 and 30 June 2006. He was knighted in 2005. He then went on to act as an advisor to Barclays Capital, Ford, Deloitte and J. C. Bamford (JCB).
Political career
On 29 June 2007, Jones became a Minister of State for Trade in both the newly-created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Foreign Office on 29 June 2007. He was appointed as a Government Minister in a move to create a government "of all talents".[1] The appointment was heavily criticised[2] for he was one the main opponents of the minimum wage[3]. It was announced he would take up the Labour whip in the House of Lords but he will not be joining the Labour Party. On 10 July 2007 he was created a life peer as Baron Jones of Birmingham, of Alvechurch and of Bromsgrove in the County of Worcestershire, and took his seat in the Lords that same day. He styles himself Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham.
Jones had considered running for Mayor of London after being encouraged by a group of prominent businessmen. He was also approached by the Conservative Party about becoming their official candidate, but soon rejected their proposal.[4]
Lord Jones announced his intention to resign as Minister of Trade in April 2008.[5] He resigned in October 2008 and was appointed to be an ambassador for the Prime Minister's new National Economic Council.[6]
Fellowships and other posts
Lord Jones is a Fellow of University College London (2004); an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University (2004); and an Honorary Doctor of the University of Central England (2002), the University of Birmingham (2002), the University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology (2003), the University of Hertfordshire (2004), Middlesex University (2005), Sheffield Hallam University (2005), Aston University (2006), the University of Hull (2006), Queen’s University, Belfast (2006), Warwick University (2006), Bradford University (2006), Wolverhampton University (2006), Nottingham University and Loughborough University (2007). He is President of the University College London Campaign, a visiting professor at the University of Hull Business School and Chairman of the Birmingham University Business School Advisory Board.
Lord Jones is a Corporate Ambassador for the Cancer Research UK Corporate Ambassadors. He is also a Fellow of UNICEF. He is President of the Diversity Works initiative - a programme led by the disability organisation Scope, a Diamond Ambassador for Mencap's WorkRight initiative, designed to spread the message of equality for disabled people, a Vice-President of Birmingham Hospice, and a Patron of Lifecycle UK. He is Member of Council (trustee) of the Royal Institution.
He is a Director of Leicester F.C. and a fan of Aston Villa FC. He is a Vice President of The Birmingham Civic Society
View of unions
| “ |
They are an irrelevance. They are backward looking and not on today’s agenda.[7] |
” |
| “ |
The trade unions put their members first and not the country. Labour is always in thrall to the unions. People keep banging on about cash for peerages, but the unions have bunged money to the government for years.[7] |
” |
Media appearances
Digby Jones was the guest on BBC Radio's Desert Island Discs, broadcast on 21 May 2006.
Styles & Honours
- Mr Digby Jones (1955-2004)
- Sir Digby Jones (2004-2007)
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Jones of Birmingham (2007-)
References
- ^ BBC News Online Brown to unveil further changes
- ^ Brown appoints Jones
- ^ Jones past record on this issue
- ^ "Tories in Digby mayor offer spat", BBC. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.
- ^ Article from Times Online, and article from the Guardian.
- ^ Carl Mortishead (October 4, 2008). "Former M&S chairman Paul Myners becomes Minister for the City", The Times. Retrieved on 2008-10-04.
- ^ a b "Sir Digby rides off with all guns blazing", The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- CBI annual report & accounts, 2007
- Minimum wage rates
- CBI urges caution on minimum wage
- Lord Jones of Birmingham on TheyWorkForYou.com
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Adair Turner |
Director of the Confederation of British Industry 2000 - 2006 |
Succeeded by Richard Lambert |
| Preceded by Ian McCartney |
Minister of State for Trade 2007 - 2008 |
Succeeded by To be confirmed |
