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Shaun Anthony Woodward MP (born 26 October 1958, Bristol) is a British politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Labour Member of Parliament for St Helens South.
Early life
Woodward was educated at the independent Bristol Grammar School and Jesus College, Cambridge where he studied English Literature. From 1981-2, he was Parliamentary Lobbyist for the National 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 about Ben 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 on London for the Conservative opposition under William Hague until 1999, when he was sacked for supporting the repeal of Section 28,[2] 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.[3] As a Labour MP, Woodward served on the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and was a prominent supporter of the Gender 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.[3]
In government
After the 2005 election he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office.
In the May 2006 reshuffle, Tony Blair appointed Woodward Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport with responsibilities for the digital handover for TV. On 28 June 2007, in his first cabinet, newly appointed Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed Woodward as the Northern Ireland Secretary, replacing Peter 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 of John Major.[4]
Personal life
He married Camilla Davan Sainsbury, daughter of the former Conservative MP Tim Sainsbury of the wealthy supermarket Sainsbury family, on 2 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 said in 2001 to be the only Labour MP with a butler-a myth that Woodward has done little to quash.
Works
References
External links
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