- Shaun Woodward
Infobox Minister
honorific-prefix =The Right Honourable
name = Shaun Woodward
honorific-suffix =
office =Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
term_start =28 June 2007
term_end =
primeminister=Gordon Brown
predecessor =Peter Hain
successor = Incumbent
constituency_MP2 = St Helens South
parliament2 =
majority2 = 9,309 (26.2%)
predecessor2 =Gerald Bermingham
successor2 = Incumbent
term_start2 =7 June 2001
term_end2 =
constituency_MP3 = Witney
parliament3 =
majority3 =
predecessor3 =Douglas Hurd
successor3 =David Cameron
term_start3 =1 May 1997
term_end3 =7 June 2001
birth_date = Birth date and age|1958|10|26|df=yes
birth_place =Bristol
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = British
spouse =
party = Labour (1999-)
Conservative (Until 1999)
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =Jesus College, Cambridge
occupation =
profession =
religion =Anglican [ [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199899/cmhansrd/vo990125/debtext/90125-13.htm House of Commons Hansard Debates for 25 Jan 1999 (pt 13) ] ]
website =
footnotes =Shaun Anthony Woodward MP (born
26 October 1958 ,Bristol ) is a British politician,Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and LabourMember of Parliament for St Helens South.Early life
Woodward was educated at the independent
Bristol Grammar School andJesus College, Cambridge where he studied English Literature. From 1981-2, he was Parliamentary Lobbyist for theNational Consumer Council . From 1982-90, he worked as a researcher and producer for BBC TV News and Current Affairs on the programmes "That's Life! ", "Panorama" and "Newsnight ". He subsequently wrote a book aboutBen Hardwick . From 1991-2, he was Director of Communications for the Conservative Party.Member of Parliament
He was selected as
Douglas Hurd 's successor as Conservative candidate for the safe seat of Witney at the 1997 election, having previously been a senior official of the party. Elected with a large majority, he was a front-bench spokesman onLondon for the Conservative opposition underWilliam Hague until1999 , when he was sacked for supporting the repeal ofSection 28 , a regulation which prevented the "promotion" of homosexuality in schools.Defection to the Labour Party
Woodward then controversially left the Conservative party to move to the ruling Labour Party. In the June 2001 general election he decided not to contest his Witney seat under the Labour banner and instead found a safe Labour seat in St Helens South. His successor in Witney was
David Cameron , who subsequently became leader of the Conservatives. When news of Woodward's intention to stand reached St Helens, a strong left-wing challenge was put forward in an attempt to deny the former Conservative the safe Labour seat. Neil Thompson of the Socialist Alliance and Michael Perry of the Socialist Labour Party both contested the St Helens South seat and received a total of 12% of the vote between them. Woodward won the seat with a much reduced 49% of the vote. [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/0,9338,-1326,00.html St Helens South | Aristotle | Guardian Unlimited Politics ] ] As a Labour MP, Woodward served on theJoint Committee on Human Rights , and was a prominent supporter of theGender Recognition Act 2004 .In May 2005, Woodward was re-elected in St Helens South receiving 54% of the vote and his majority increased. However, the Liberal Democrats candidate, Brian Spencer, saw his party's vote increase from 23% in 2001 to 28%. Michael Perry of the Socialist Labour Party contested the seat again and received just under two percent of the vote. [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/hoc/constituency/0,9338,-1326,00.html St Helens South | Aristotle | Guardian Unlimited Politics ] ]
In government
After the 2005 election he was appointed
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at theNorthern Ireland Office .In the May 2006 reshuffle,
Tony Blair appointed Woodward Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at theDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport with responsibilities for the digital handover for TV. On 28 June 2007, in his first cabinet, newly appointed Prime MinisterGordon Brown appointed Woodward as the Northern Ireland Secretary, replacingPeter Hain . Woodward chooses not to receive a Ministerial salary because of his personal wealth. As Ulster Secretary, Woodward reportedly became a close confidant of Prime Minister Brown. This was largely due to Woodward's previous first hand experiences of the beleaguered Conservative government ofJohn Major . [cite news | last = | first = | coauthors = | title =Shaun Woodward becomes unlikely confidant of Gordon Brown | work = | pages = | language = | publisher =Daily Telegraph | date =2008-08-21 | url =http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/labour/2463416/Shaun-Woodward-becomes-unlikely-confidant-of-Gordon-Brown.html| accessdate =2008-09-16 ]Personal life
He married Camilla Davan Sainsbury, daughter of the former Conservative MP
Tim Sainsbury of the wealthy supermarketSainsbury family, on2 May 1987 in Newbury. They have one son (Thomas, born July 1989) and three daughters (Eleanor, born May 1991, Olivia, born October 1993, and Katherine, born September 1996). He was [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/profiles/story/0,9396,461476,00.html said in 2001] to be the only Labour MP with a butler—a myth that Woodward has done little to quash.Works
*"Death by Television" by
Esther Rantzen , Shaun Woodward (Century, 1999) ISBN 0-7126-2543-7
*"Drugwatch: Just Say No!" bySarah Caplin , Shaun Woodward (Corgi, 1986) ISBN 0-552-12820-1
*"Ben: Story of Ben Hardwick" by Esther Rantzen, Shaun Woodward (Penguin Character Books, 1985) ISBN 0-563-20331-5
*"That's Life" Survey on Tranquillisers" byRon Lacey , Shaun Woodward (BBC, 1985) ISBN 0-563-20294-7References
External links
* [http://www.shaunwoodward.com Shaun Woodward MP] official site
* [http://www.nio.gov.uk/index/about-the-nio/biographies/shaun-woodward-bio.htm Northern Ireland Office - Shaun Woodward MP] biography and portfolio
* [http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/joint_committee_on_human_rights.cfm Joint Committee on Human Rights]
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-5668,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Shaun Woodward MP]
* [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/shaun_woodward/st_helens_south TheyWorkForYou.com - Shaun Woodward MP]
* [http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpn=Shaun_Woodward&mpc=St+Helens+South The Public Whip - Shaun Woodward MP] voting record
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/500.stm BBC News - Shaun Woodward] profile 24 March, 2005
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/gordonbrown/story/0,,2114144,00.html "Guardian" Profile: Shaun Woodward] 28 June 2007
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