The SDP's leader, Roy Jenkins, referred to Thomas as the "pint-sized Pavarotti", on the basis of his stocky build and beard together with his ebullient manner.
[1] In the 1950s both were direct grant grammar schools to which many pupils, including Thomas, were admitted on the basis of local authority scholarships.
[4] Thomas continued in his quest to find a seat in Parliament and eventually succeeded at Newcastle-upon-Tyne East in October 1974, after the death at age 45 of the sitting Labour member Geoff Rhodes.
As an outsider to Newcastle Labour politics, Thomas won the selection vote with the support of left-wing and anti-establishment elements in the local Party.
One of the party members who voted for Thomas at the selection meeting later characterised him as "... the classic 'man who got off the train from Kings Cross'.
[7] Thomas remained in Parliament as an SDP MP where he acted as his new party's spokesman on health and social services.
In full view of TV cameras, Williams refused Thomas access to the room on grounds that his group's meeting was not an official SDP function.
[13] After losing his seat in Parliament in 1983, Thomas developed a portfolio of interests in journalism, corporate communications and management consulting.
Thomas's entry in Who's Who states that since 1990 he has worked with the owners and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises to grow and develop their businesses.
However, in 2009 he became site moderator of the Charter 2010 website which anticipated the result of the 2010 General Election and provided support for the political basis on which the Coalition Government of 2010-2015 was founded.