Having been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1982 Birthday Honours, Thomas was created a Life Peer as Baron Thomas of Gresford, of Gresford in the County Borough of Wrexham on 30 September 1996, whereupon he took the Liberal Democrat Whip.
Having been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1982 Birthday Honours, Thomas was promoted to a Life Peer as Baron Thomas of Gresford, of Gresford in the County Borough of Wrexham on 30 September 1996, and subsequently became the Liberal Democrat Whip.