LORD Hoyle, formerly the Labour MP Doug Hoyle, has announced his resignation as a whip in the House of Lords after his appointment as chairman of Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club.

Lord Hoyle, 69, was MP for Nelson and Colne between 1974 and 1979. He was later MP for Warrington and later Warrington North, from 1981 until his retirement from the Commons at the 1997 General Election.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party in the last Parliament, he served as president of the white-collar union, Manufacturing, Science, Finance in 1990-91, and was joint president of that union in the two years before that.

Lord Hoyle has had a lifelong interest in the sport, having been president of Chorley Rugby League Club and president of Warrington Rugby League Supporters Club.

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