 He was an important trade union leader in the United Kingdom, who rose to fame in the mid 20th century as an influential figure in the British textile industry, representing first the Amalgamated Weavers Association, the Cotton Board and later the Textile Council.Already a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Wright was further honoured when Harold Wilson's government awarded him a life peerage in the 1968 New Year Honours list.On 22 January 1968, he was created Baron Wright of Ashton-under-Lyne, "of Ashton-under-Lyne in the County Palatine of Lancaster"  and took his seat in the House of Lords on 7 February.