Shaun Woodward

Early life

Woodward was educated at Bristol Grammar School, Jesus College, Cambridge, where he studied English literature, and Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar. 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

Woodward 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, a regulation which aimed to prevent the "promotion of homosexuality" in schools.

Defection to the Labour Party

After being sacked from the Tory front bench, Woodward then left the Conservative party to move to the ruling Labour Party, without resigning as an MP. This meant that no by-election took place. He was given a job co-ordinating the Labour party's 2001 general election campaign. Woodward's local Conservative constituency association requested that he resign and run again in a by-election, under the Labour banner, as he had originally won the safe Conservative seat by campaigning as a Conservative. Woodward refused to hold a by-election, and continued to represent his constituency for two years.

Woodward was criticized by his former colleagues in the Conservative Party, including leader William Hague, chairman Michael Ancram and Michael Heseltine, and backbench Labour MPs Tony Benn and Jeremy Corbyn, and ten years later, in the 2009 political diaries of former Labour government minister Chris Mullin. Woodward's defection was welcomed by senior Labour figures.

In the June 2001 general election, Woodward decided not to contest his Witney seat as a Labour candidate and instead found a safe Labour seat in St Helens South. Chris Mullin wrote with shock of "the awful Shaun Woodward" defecting to Mullin's own side, calling "the New Labour elite parachuting [Woodward] into a safe seat ... one of New Labour's vilest stitch-ups ... made my flesh creep". His successor in Witney was David Cameron, who subsequently became Prime Minister in 2010.

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.

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 2% of the vote.

In government

After the 2005 election, Woodward was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office.

In the May 2006 reshuffle, Tony Blair named Woodward Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport with responsibilities for the digital switchover 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 chose not to receive a ministerial salary because of his personal wealth. As Northern Ireland Secretary, Woodward reportedly became a close confidant of the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. This was largely due to Woodward's previous first hand experiences of the beleaguered Conservative government of John Major.

In Opposition

Woodward stood for election to Labour's shadow cabinet, but was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, he was retained as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by Labour leader Ed Miliband for just under a year.

In November 2013 he announced that he would stand down from Parliament at the next general election, to work on human rights issues. He was praised for his role by then Labour leader, Ed Miliband, who wrote to him: "In 1999, you made an incredibly hard decision to cross the floor of the House and join the Labour party. It took personal courage and political commitment, and our party will forever be grateful to you."

Personal life

He married Camilla Davan Sainsbury, daughter of former Conservative MP Tim Sainsbury of the wealthy supermarket Sainsbury family, on 2 May 1987; they announced their separation after 28 years on 20 December 2015. They have one son and three daughters, including the food blogger Ella Woodward.

After leaving his wife, Woodward was reported to be in a relationship with Luke Redgrave, a film cameraman and the grandson of the actor Sir Michael Redgrave. In 2016 Woodward and Redgrave were living together in Sag Harbor in The Hamptons, New York State.

In March 2001, he was said to be the only Labour MP with a butler. 

Works