Sir Robert Evan Thomas JP (8 October 1901 - 17 April 2004) was a British politician and trade unionist who served as Leader of Manchester City Council on three occasions between 1956 and 1973.
[5] At the age of 14, Thomas began working in a coal mine before serving eighteen months in the army after the end of the First World War.
[15] Through much of this period, the corporation's rates increased leading to public backlash and the formation of a Ratepayers' Party which won more than 7,000 votes in the 1960 local elections.
[16][17] In 1962-63 Municipal year, Thomas served as Lord Mayor of Manchester and resigned the leadership of the Labour group, he was succeeded by Alderman Maurice Pariser.
The Guardian posited that Labour's defeat was brought about by the failure to materialise motorway expansion and the cancellation of the Picc-Vic tunnel, both projects championed by Thomas.