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The Right HonourableThe Lord Harris of Peckham
Born	Philip Harris (1942-09-15) 15 September 1942 (age 82) Peckham, London, England
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Carpetright, Harris Federation, Arsenal FC
Political party	Conservative Party
Spouse	Pauline Harris

Philip Charles Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham (born 15 September 1942) is an English businessman and politician. A prominent Conservative Party donor, Harris is a member of the House of Lords.

He is the sponsor of a large multi-academy trust, the Harris Federation.

Interests

Business

Harris is currently an advisor and shareholder of Tapi Carpets, a flooring retailer set up recently by a number of the old Carpetright management team. Harris was the Chairman of Carpetright plc and has over fifty years' experience in carpet retailing. Harris left Carpetright in 2014, sold all of his shares and he is no longer associated with the company.

He was chairman and chief executive of Harris Carpets. Harris Carpets acquired Queensway in 1977 to become Harris Queensway plc until the company was taken over in 1988.

Harris was also a non-executive director of Great Universal Stores plc for 18 years, retiring from the GUS Board in July 2004. Harris became a non-executive director of Matalan in October 2004.

Football

He was appointed to the board of Arsenal Football Club as a non-executive director in November 2005.

Equestrian interests

Harris is the co-owner of the Olympic gold medal-winning horse Hello Sanctos who won a gold medal with Scott Brash in the team show jumping event at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

Harris and Lord Kirkham bought the horse for an estimated €2 million at the start of 2012. They are also co-owners of the horses Hello Sailor, Hello Unique and Hello Boyo.

Politics

Conservative Party donations

This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Philip Harris, Baron Harris of Peckham" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2020)

Harris has been a donor to the Tory Party since the 1980s and was a great admirer of Margaret Thatcher.

He also made donations to David Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party.

He is considered to be one of his personal friends. His ties to Cameron came under scrutiny two years later when it appeared that Andrew Feldman, a political associate of his and a fellow donor to Cameron's leadership campaign, used Harris's name to claim privileges accorded to active members of the House of Lords (which Harris, his peerage notwithstanding, had never been).

Comments on Theresa May

In a September 2017 interview with The Times he described Theresa May as very indecisive unlike Thatcher, hopeless during the general election campaign which she should have won easily, and was leading a weak directionless government.

He said May was mishandling the Brexit negotiations and alienated many in the business community. He also said the government's funding cuts to schools had gone too far and were a false economy and that the free schools policy should be overhauled by the Department for Education so that they are only set up in areas of place shortages.

Other comments made included his opposition to an expansion of grammar schools, Theresa May u-turning on too many decisions such as the so-called dementia tax, and the Home Office not reducing net migration to the tens of thousands as repeatedly promised. Harris spoke about potential candidates on who could succeed May as Conservative Party Leader.

Harris Federation academies

He has contributed extensively to education and as a result, many schools and colleges (such as Harris Manchester College, Oxford) bear his name. Through the Harris Federation, many secondary schools in South London have received Harris donations. In the London Borough of Croydon, he helped to found the Harris City Technology College, Harris Academy South Norwood and Harris Academy Merton, Harris Academy Purley, Harris Academy Chafford Hundred, Harris Academy Peckham although many local residents are angered that the original name of the Harris Girls Academy East Dulwich, Stanley Technical High School, was dropped in place of the Harris name.

In recent years, the forced change to academy status has placed additional schools under the management of the Harris Federation despite considerable opposition from Boards of Governors and parents.

Personal life

Sunday Times Rich List

Harris ranked 206th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, with an estimated wealth of £285m.

Honours

He was knighted in 1985.

He was made a life peer as Baron Harris of Peckham, in the London Borough of Southwark on 11 January 1996.

His wife Pauline was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2004.

References

1. "London 2012 Olympics: Team GB's triumphant show-jumping team grateful for loyal owners". The Daily Telegraph.
2. "The team". Graham & Tina Fletcher. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
3. Education Correspondent, Francis Elliott, Political Editor, Rachel Sylvester, Alice Thomson, Nicola Woolcock (9 September 2017). "Theresa May is 'hopeless and weak', says Lord Harris of Peckham". Retrieved 28 January 2018 – via thetimes.co.uk. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
4. Alice Thomson, Rachel Sylvester (9 September 2017). "May is hopeless, Boris is too lazy and Gove has no personality, says Lord Harris of Peckham". Retrieved 28 January 2018 – via thetimes.co.uk.
5. "South Norwood residents demand Stanley's name is retained at new Harris Academy". Croydon Labour. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2007.
6. "Primary school parents in row over takeover by academy chain". The Guardian. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
7. "No. 50221". The London Gazette. 6 August 1985. p. 10816.
8. "No. 54291". The London Gazette. 17 January 1996. p. 747.

• Conservative Party (UK) life peers
• British businesspeople
• Arsenal F.C. directors and chairmen
• Fellows of King's College London
• Harris Manchester College, Oxford
• Knights Bachelor
• 1942 births
• Living people
• Conservative Party (UK) donors