Phil Woolas, a former Labour Party minister who served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has died at the age of 66 after battling brain cancer, his family and close friends announced on Saturday.Woolas, who represented Oldham East and Saddleworth in Parliament for more than a decade, held several ministerial roles during Labour’s 13-year period in power from 1997 to 2010.
Long battle with brain cancer
In a statement, Woolas’s family said he had been fighting glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, for more than a year.“He leaves his wife Tracey, his sons Josh and Jed, and a new grandson, along with many friends and former colleagues who will miss him greatly,” the statement said.Tributes poured in from senior Labour figures who worked with him during the New Labour era.Blair described Woolas as “an outstanding member of the New Labour government, a greatly respected and admired colleague, and a source of humour and rich political insight”.Brown called him a “brilliant MP, a highly effective minister and a very generous and popular friend” who fought a “brave struggle against an incurable cancer”.
Career in government
Woolas served as the Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth from 1997 to 2010, first winning the seat during Labour’s landslide victory in the 1997 general election.During his time in government, he held several ministerial posts, including roles related to local government, the environment, and borders and immigration. His final post was Minister of State for Borders and Immigration between 2008 and 2010.
Early life and career before politics
Born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, Woolas joined the Labour Party at the age of 16 and became active in student politics, including the Anti-Nazi League.He later served as president of the National Union of Students (NUS) from 1984 to 1986. Before entering Parliament, he worked in television as a producer for the BBC programme Newsnight and for Channel 4 News, and later became communications director for the GMB trade union.Controversy and loss of seatWoolas’s parliamentary career ended in 2010 following a rare election court ruling. The court found that he had breached election law by making false statements about his Liberal Democrat opponent during the general election campaign.His narrow victory of 103 votes was declared void, he lost his seat in the House of Commons and was barred from contesting the resulting by-election. He was also suspended from the Labour Party for several months.
Work after politics
After leaving frontline politics, Woolas set up a political lobbying and consultancy firm. He also served as chair of the Ace Centre, an Oldham-based charity that provides assistive communication technology for people with disabilities.Despite the controversies that marked the end of his parliamentary career, colleagues across politics remembered him as an energetic campaigner and influential figure during the New Labour years.
