Phil Woolas

Philip James Woolas (born 11 December 1959)[1] is a British environmental consultant, political lobbyist, former television producer and former politician.[2][3][4] He was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Oldham East and Saddleworth from his election in 1997 to 2010. He was the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration in the Home Office, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury. On 5 November 2010, he was found to have breached the Representation of the People Act 1983 in the course of the 2010 general election. As a result, his victory of just 103 votes at the 2010 general election campaign was declared void, he lost his seat in the House of Commons,[5] and was barred from standing again for three years.[6] Woolas was also administratively suspended from the Labour Party[6] until his case was considered by the Disputes Panel in January 2011 when it was lifted.

Phil Woolas
Woolas in 2009
Minister of State for the Treasury Minister of State for Borders and Immigration
In office 4 October 2008 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Liam Byrne
Succeeded by	Damian Green
Minister of State for the Environment
In office 28 June 2007 – 4 October 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Ian Pearson
Succeeded by	The Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
Minister of State for Local Government
In office 5 May 2006 – 4 October 2008
Prime Minister	Tony Blair Gordon Brown
Preceded by	David Miliband
Succeeded by	John Healey
Minister for Social Exclusion
In office 9 May 2005 – 5 May 2006
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Barbara Roche
Succeeded by	Hilary Armstrong
Deputy Leader of the House of Commons
In office 13 June 2003 – 9 May 2005
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Ben Bradshaw
Succeeded by	Nigel Griffiths
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office 29 May 2002 – 13 June 2003
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Tony McNulty
Succeeded by	Derek Twigg
Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth
In office 1 May 1997 – 5 November 2010
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Debbie Abrahams
Personal details
Born	Philip James Woolas (1959-12-11) 11 December 1959 Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Tracey Allen
Residence	Lees, Greater Manchester
Alma mater	Victoria University of Manchester
Occupation	Television Producer

Woolas's previous positions include heading the National Union of Students, working as a producer for the BBC's programme Newsnight and a role at the GMB trade union.

Early life

Woolas was born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, on 11 December 1959.[7] He went to Nelson Grammar School and, after O levels, Nelson and Colne College. He received a BA in Philosophy from the Victoria University of Manchester.

Woolas joined the Labour Party at the age of 16 and became involved in student politics through the Anti-Nazi League.[8] Before becoming an MP, he was president of the National Union of Students from 1984 to 1986,[7][9] a television producer for the BBC on Newsnight from 1988 to 1990 (where he became firm friends with fellow Manchester United supporter Michael Crick), producer at ITN's Channel 4 News from 1990 to 1991[9] and head of communications at the GMB trade union from 1991 to 1997.

Parliamentary career

He first won his seat for Labour in the 1997 general election, having contested the predecessor Littleborough and Saddleworth seat at a by-election in 1995,[7] which was marked by Labour's particularly vicious and personal campaign, attacking the Liberal Democrat candidate, Chris Davies, as "high on tax and soft on drugs".[10] Peter Mandelson admitted in his autobiography that they had gone “on the attack”, writing “After the campaign was over, not only our opponents but some in Labour would denounce our ‘negative’ tactics in highlighting Lib Dem front-runner Chris Davies’ support for higher taxes and a Royal Commission to liberalise drugs laws. For tactical reasons, I felt we had had little choice.”[11]

In 1999 Woolas became parliamentary private secretary to Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, a Transport Minister, and became a whip in 2001.

In June 2003 he was appointed Deputy Leader of the House of Commons under the Government's newly appointed Leader of the Commons, Peter Hain. During the May 2005 ministerial reshuffle, he also served briefly under Hain's successor, Geoff Hoon.[12]

Between the same reshuffle and June 2007, Woolas was Minister of State for Local Government at the Deputy Prime Minister's Office and then the Department for Communities and Local Government, the 2006 successor to the DPMO. During 2005, Woolas was accused of evading parliamentary questions with regard to public calls for reform of the Local Government Ombudsman in 2005.[13]

On 28 June 2007 he became Minister for the Environment at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (in the Brown ministry). He had responsibility for climate change, energy and sustainable development.[9]

In October 2006, Woolas was involved in the United Kingdom debate over veils, particularly the case of Aishah Azmi, a Muslim teaching assistant who wore an Islamic veil in class.[14]

In February 2008, he raised the question of inter-cousin marriage as a cause of the high incidence of disability within predominantly Pakistani culture. The debate was welcomed by Ann Cryer MP who cited incidences in her own constituency.[15] This debate is (2011) still continuing.[16][17]

Following the cabinet re-shuffle of 3 October 2008, he was made Minister of State for Borders and Immigration at the Home Office and Minister of State for the Treasury.[18]

In the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009, Phil Woolas reportedly claimed expenses for items not allowed under the rules. Woolas said the items were on a receipt he submitted under food claims, but were not claimed themselves, and threatened a newspaper with legal action.[19][20] The Legge enquiry into MPs' expenses cleared Woolas.

In November 2008, Woolas attacked lawyers and charities working on behalf of asylum seekers, accusing them of undermining the law and "playing the system" by taking legal action.[21]

In February 2010, following the accusations of bullying[22] made against Gordon Brown and other members of the UK cabinet, Woolas was quoted as referring to the head of the National Bullying Helpline, Christine Pratt, as "this prat of a woman" in a radio interview.[23]

Gurkha veterans' resettlement rights

In spring 2009, Woolas was involved in a controversy regarding the rights for Gurkhas to settle in the United Kingdom. On 24 April 2009, Woolas proposed a new settlement for Gurkhas who were discharged before 1997. According to The Economist:

Veterans would be allowed to settle only if they met one or more conditions based on length of service, gallantry or related illness. Many of the requirements seemed designed to frustrate: for example, one way to qualify automatically was by soldiering for at least 20 years, though most rank-and-file Gurkhas serve for only 15. Another was to prove that a long-term medical condition was caused or worsened by active service; a tall order for those whose injuries were sustained decades ago.

These proposals later were denounced in a vote at the House of Commons, with many Labour MPs voting across party lines.[24] Woolas was later confronted at the BBC Westminster studios by the actress Joanna Lumley, the face of the Gurkha Justice Campaign. After Ms Lumley pursued him around the studio, the pair held an impromptu press conference in which she pressured him into agreeing to further talks over the settlement rights of Gurkhas.[25] On 21 May, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced that all Gurkha veterans who had served four years or more in the British Army before 1997 would be allowed to settle in Britain.[26] Gurkhas serving after 1997 had been given UK settlement rights in 2004.

Woolas stated that cost was a prime consideration: "Our estimate is £1.4 billion, and I remind the House that that would come from the defence budget."[27] However, according to a Freedom of Information request, the only impact on the Defence budget has been £20,000 per year to set up and run the settlement office in Kathmandu.[28]

2010 Labour leadership election

Woolas was re-elected in the 2010 general election, although the result would later be overturned by an election court. Woolas gave his backing to close political ally David Miliband and represented him at events throughout the country. The Times described Woolas as "a campaign fixer for Mr Miliband".[29] However, Woolas officially nominated Diane Abbott, at the request of Miliband. Woolas said, "I nominated her as an act of pluralism. We thought it would send a strong signal that David will be an inclusive leader."[29][30]

2010 re-election and election court case

In his 2010 re-election campaign, Woolas's campaigning methods were heavily criticised by his Liberal Democrat opponents and the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK (MPACUK).[31] Critics accused him, among other things, of "inflaming racial tensions" in an area that has already known race riots.[32] Trevor Phillips, head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and former Labour politician, described some of the language used in the party's leaflets as "not helpful."[33][34]

Woolas and his agent, Joe Fitzpatrick, were also responsible for photo manipulation of images in his election addresses. In one case they manipulated an image to show his Liberal Democrat opponent Elwyn Watkins in front of armed police, allegedly to imply Watkins had been arrested.[35][36] This was a composite image, consisting of a portrait of Watkins and a photograph of armed police patrolling London. The Metropolitan Police insignia was also airbrushed from a female officer's jacket.

Woolas won the election and was returned to Parliament with a majority of 103 votes – down from 3,590.[37]

Following the election of Ed Miliband as the Labour Party Leader, Woolas was reappointed to the immigration brief on the shadow front bench team. The New Statesman said it was a "bizarre decision" as Woolas had "run one of the most disgraceful election campaigns in recent history".[38]

Election court case

See also: 2011 Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election

On 28 May 2010, Woolas's Liberal Democrat opponent, Elwyn Watkins, issued an election petition against the result[39][40] under section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983,[41][42][43] which makes it illegal to make false statements of fact about a candidate. Watkins claimed that leaflets issued by Woolas falsely portrayed Watkins as taking unlawful foreign donations, and linked him to Muslim extremists.[44]

During the court case, held in public at Saddleworth Civic Hall, a number of emails between Woolas and his campaign team emerged. In one, Woolas's agent and former Labour councillor, Joseph Fitzpatrick emailed Woolas and Steven Green, the MP's campaign adviser, to say: "Things are not going as well as I had hoped ... we need to think about our first attack leaflet."[45] A reply from Fitzpatrick said: "If we don’t get the white vote angry he’s gone."[46]

During the course of the court case, both Woolas and Fitzpatrick were cautioned by the presiding judge in respect of possible criminal charges relating to election offences. The court hearing finished in September 2010.[47] In November 2010, the court ruled that Woolas breached section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983,[48] and ordered a fresh election for the seat to be held.[49] In a statement released through his lawyer, Woolas stated that "this election petition raised fundamental issues about the freedom to question and criticise politicians" and that it "will inevitably chill political speech".[50]

Woolas applied for a judicial review into the ruling,[51] but as the Labour Party withdrew its support he had to finance it himself, and he started to ask for donations.[52] The High Court rejected his request for a judicial review.[53] Woolas launched a second judicial review, technically a renewed application for permission to seek judicial review, and was heard in person at the High Court on 16 November 2010.[54][55] The judges' decision took longer than expected, with them saying that there were "difficult questions to resolve".[56]

Following the initial court result, Woolas received goodwill messages from former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown and from Cherie Blair, wife of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair. Labour MP Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton) was vocally supportive and criticised Harman and the party for suspending Woolas.[57]

A decision on this second request was published on 3 December 2010.[58] Woolas was accompanied to court by the Labour Shadow Health Secretary John Healey.[59] The court granted Woolas permission to bring judicial review and that review overturned one of the three breaches of the section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 found by the Election Court. The other two breaches stood: "this does not affect the certificate as the findings of an illegal practice in relation to the other two matters cannot be impugned".[58] On leaving court, Woolas said, "It is the end of the road – I am out."[60] A by-election to elect a new Member of Parliament for his former seat was held on 13 January 2011,[61] in which the new Labour candidate, Debbie Abrahams, defeated Elwyn Watkins.

After the review ruling, a Labour spokesman said, "The Labour Party administratively suspended Phil Woolas after the original judgment of the election court. Following the conclusion of this judicial review, the Labour Party will consider this issue in detail and whether further action is appropriate."[62] Although the verdict of the election court indicated a prima facie breach of criminal law, in March 2011 the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would not bring criminal charges against Woolas as the finding of the Election Court already disqualified him from holding elected office and they felt that this was sufficient punishment.[63] The CPS also declined to prosecute Joseph Fitzpatrick although as election agent he was responsible for the items deemed to have broken the law; he later stood unsuccessfully in Oldham as a council candidate for UKIP.

Personal life

Woolas is married to events organiser and ex-lobbyist Tracey Jane Allen, former co-director of lobbying firm Morgan Allen Moore.[64][65]

Current activities

Woolas is a director of two organisations – Boothwood Partners,[66] an environmental consultancy, and Wellington Street Partners,[67] a political lobbying partnership originally formed with former MPs Paul Keetch (Lib Dem) and Sir Sydney Chapman (Conservative).

See also

• Miranda Grell, whose case fell under the same provision. Grell was prosecuted, rather than having her election petitioned against.

References

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2. "The Labour right strikes back". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
3. Mulholland, Hélène; Muir, Hugh (9 November 2010). "Harriet Harman faces backbench mutiny over Phil Woolas". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017.
4. Echo, Liverpool (8 November 2010). "Disgraced North West minister Phil Woolas vows to clear his name". Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
5. Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard, 8 November 2010 : Column 1". Publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. Curtis, Polly (5 November 2010). "Phil Woolas immigration leaflets case: high court orders election rerun in Oldham East". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
7. "Phil Woolas; Biography". epolitix.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
8. "Phil Woolas – Labour". rochdaleonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
9. "Phil Woolas: Minister for the Environment". defra.gov.uk. 4 July 2007. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
10. Barkham, Patrick (18 November 2008). "You can't come in". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
11. The Third Man: Life at the Heart of New Labour, Peter Mandelson, HarperPress (15 July 2010)
12. "Privy Council Office Resource Accounts 2005–06" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 September 2014.
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15. "Birth defects warning sparks row". BBC News. 10 February 2008. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
16. Archived 28 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
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64. Barker, Sophie (4 June 1999). "Stop Press: Morgan Allen Moore promotes two to board – PR and Public Relations news". PR Week. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
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External links

• Philip Woolas: Electoral history and profile, The Guardian
• TheyWorkForYou.com – Phil Woolas MP
• Article in Public Service Review: European Union issue 15
• Phil Woolas: Times article on his fight against racism which inspired views on limits on immigration
• 2010 Controversy surrounding MPAC UK and his suspension From Labour Party

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth 1997 – 5 November 2010	Succeeded by Debbie Abrahams
Political offices
Preceded by Neil Stewart	President of the National Union of Students 1984–1986	Succeeded by Vicky Phillips
Preceded by Liam Byrne	Minister of State for Borders and Immigration and Minister of State for the Treasury 2008–2010	Succeeded by Damian Green