Kenneth Woolmer, Baron Woolmer of Leeds
Encyclopedia
Kenneth John Woolmer, Baron Woolmer of Leeds (born 25 April 1940) is a British
university lecturer and politician
. Coming into politics through local government in West Yorkshire
, Woolmer was elected to Parliament for the Labour Party
in 1979. He became an effective Parliamentarian and was rapidly promoted, despite clearly allying to the party's right-wing and playing an active role in the intra-party conflict. Partly due to adverse boundary changes, he lost his seat in 1983 and was unable to win it back. Later in life he received a life peer
age and became an active member of the House of Lords
.
, moving on to the University of Leeds
where he received a Bachelor of Arts
degree in economics; after leaving university he became a university lecturer at Leeds. His political career began in 1970 when he was elected as a Labour Party
candidate to Leeds
city council, of which he was deputy leader from 1972. In 1973 Woolmer was elected to the new Leeds city council and to West Yorkshire
county council which had been created as part of local government reorganisation. At the 1970 Labour Party conference, Woolmer (as delegate from Leeds North West
Constituency Labour Party
) seconded a motion calling for abolition of all private medicine.
as Labour Party candidate for Batley and Morley
. Broughton suffered prolonged ill health during the later stages of the Parliament but did not resign his seat; he died just as the 1979 general election
campaign began. Woolmer was elected with a majority of 5,352. In Parliament Woolmer specialised in issues affecting the economy and industry. He became a member of the Select Committee on the Treasury and Civil Service when it was set up, and chaired the Parliamentary Labour Party
finance and economic committee in 1980-81.
to build up manufacturing industry, and he challenged Margaret Thatcher
to accept that her policies were causing a divide between the industrial north and the prosperous south. He attacked the 1981 budget as "savagely deflationary", asserting that it would "pile agony on to injury". Woolmer also took up the cause of civil servants' pay, urging the Government to take the matter to arbitration.
. Leader of the Opposition Michael Foot
promoted Woolmer to the front bench as junior spokesman on trade, prices and consumer protection from November 1981; it was noted that he was not a left-winger in Labour Party terms. Woolmer joined a pressure group called "Forward Labour" which was set up in 1982 calling for evidence of Militant tendency
infiltration of the Labour Party to be published, with a view to expelling their members.
In his front bench role, Woolmer pressed the Government not to allow British Airways
(then in state ownership) to sell off profitable subsidiaries, which he believed to be a prelude to its privatisation.
, his constituency was divided in boundary changes and Woolmer stood for the new Batley and Spen seat which was less favourable for the Labour Party. After a close fight, Woolmer lost the seat by 870 votes to the Conservative Elizabeth Peacock
. His loss from the House of Commons was described as "unexpected" by Gerald Kaufman
, who particularly regretted it because Woolmer "had developed an impressive expertise in trade policy".
Woolmer had been the principal of Halton Gill Associates, consultants on central and local government, since 1979. In 1985 Woolmer was reselected to try to gain Batley and Spen back from the Conservatives. At the 1987 general election
, he was again defeated as the Conservatives slightly increased their majority; it was speculated that a large personal vote for the sitting Conservative MP had kept the seat in her hands.
Programmes for Leeds University; he also served as a director of Leeds United A.F.C.
from 1991 to 1996. He was briefly Dean of External Relations for the university in 1997 before becoming Dean of the School of Business and Economic Studies; he oversaw the creation of a separate Leeds University Business School before leaving in 2000. He has been a partner in Anderson McGraw since 2001 and was a non-executive director of Thornfield Developments Ltd from 1999 to 2002, among other business appointments. Woolmer was created a Life Peer
as Baron Woolmer of Leeds, of Leeds in the County of West Yorkshire in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
on 3 August 1999.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
university lecturer and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. Coming into politics through local government in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, Woolmer was elected to Parliament for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
in 1979. He became an effective Parliamentarian and was rapidly promoted, despite clearly allying to the party's right-wing and playing an active role in the intra-party conflict. Partly due to adverse boundary changes, he lost his seat in 1983 and was unable to win it back. Later in life he received a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
age and became an active member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
Early career
Woolmer was the son of Joseph Woolmer, and was educated at Kettering Grammar SchoolKettering Grammar School
Kettering Grammar School was a boys grammar school that had a number of homes in Kettering, Northamptonshire throughout its history.-History:...
, moving on to the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
where he received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in economics; after leaving university he became a university lecturer at Leeds. His political career began in 1970 when he was elected as a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate to Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
city council, of which he was deputy leader from 1972. In 1973 Woolmer was elected to the new Leeds city council and to West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
county council which had been created as part of local government reorganisation. At the 1970 Labour Party conference, Woolmer (as delegate from Leeds North West
Leeds North West (UK Parliament constituency)
Leeds North West is a parliamentary constituency in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
) seconded a motion calling for abolition of all private medicine.
West Yorkshire county council
As deputy leader and chairman of the planning and transport committee of West Yorkshire county council, Woolmer announced in July 1974 the beginning of a campaign for industrial and commercial development. In 1976 he called for Government support for electronics industries which were locating in West Yorkshire, after a Rank Radio factory made 200 workers redundant. Woolmer was chairman of the planning and transportation committee of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities from 1974 to 1977, and later became Leader of West Yorkshire county council.1979 election
By the late summer of 1976, Woolmer had been selected to follow Dr Alfred BroughtonAlfred Broughton
Sir Alfred Davies Devonsher Broughton was a British Labour Party politician.Broughton was educated at Rossall School, Downing College, Cambridge and the London Hospital and became a doctor, a member of a family who had been Batley doctors for 70 years. During World War II he worked in civil...
as Labour Party candidate for Batley and Morley
Batley and Morley (UK Parliament constituency)
Batley and Morley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Batley and Morley in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
. Broughton suffered prolonged ill health during the later stages of the Parliament but did not resign his seat; he died just as the 1979 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
campaign began. Woolmer was elected with a majority of 5,352. In Parliament Woolmer specialised in issues affecting the economy and industry. He became a member of the Select Committee on the Treasury and Civil Service when it was set up, and chaired the Parliamentary Labour Party
Parliamentary Labour Party
In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party in Parliament: Labour MPs as a collective body....
finance and economic committee in 1980-81.
Economic policy
In responding to the recession of the early 1980s, Woolmer pressed the Government to use the proceeds of North Sea oilNorth Sea oil
North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid oil and natural gas, produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea.In the oil industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian Sea and the area known as "West of Shetland", "the Atlantic Frontier" or "the...
to build up manufacturing industry, and he challenged Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
to accept that her policies were causing a divide between the industrial north and the prosperous south. He attacked the 1981 budget as "savagely deflationary", asserting that it would "pile agony on to injury". Woolmer also took up the cause of civil servants' pay, urging the Government to take the matter to arbitration.
Solidarity
After a special conference of the Labour Party endorsed, an electoral college for future elections of the party leader. Woolmer signed a statement deploring the outcome. He volunteered as Secretary of Solidarity, a group which campaigned against the far left within the Labour Party and to stop further defections to the Social Democratic PartySocial Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. Leader of the Opposition Michael Foot
Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
promoted Woolmer to the front bench as junior spokesman on trade, prices and consumer protection from November 1981; it was noted that he was not a left-winger in Labour Party terms. Woolmer joined a pressure group called "Forward Labour" which was set up in 1982 calling for evidence of Militant tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
infiltration of the Labour Party to be published, with a view to expelling their members.
In his front bench role, Woolmer pressed the Government not to allow British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
(then in state ownership) to sell off profitable subsidiaries, which he believed to be a prelude to its privatisation.
Defeat
When Woolmer came up for re-election at the 1983 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
, his constituency was divided in boundary changes and Woolmer stood for the new Batley and Spen seat which was less favourable for the Labour Party. After a close fight, Woolmer lost the seat by 870 votes to the Conservative Elizabeth Peacock
Elizabeth Peacock
Elizabeth Peacock is a British Conservative politician and former Member of Parliament for the West Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen....
. His loss from the House of Commons was described as "unexpected" by Gerald Kaufman
Gerald Kaufman
Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman is a British Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 1970, first for Manchester Ardwick, and then subsequently for Manchester Gorton...
, who particularly regretted it because Woolmer "had developed an impressive expertise in trade policy".
Woolmer had been the principal of Halton Gill Associates, consultants on central and local government, since 1979. In 1985 Woolmer was reselected to try to gain Batley and Spen back from the Conservatives. At the 1987 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
, he was again defeated as the Conservatives slightly increased their majority; it was speculated that a large personal vote for the sitting Conservative MP had kept the seat in her hands.
Subsequent business career
In 1991 Woolmer became Director of MBAMaster of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
Programmes for Leeds University; he also served as a director of Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
from 1991 to 1996. He was briefly Dean of External Relations for the university in 1997 before becoming Dean of the School of Business and Economic Studies; he oversaw the creation of a separate Leeds University Business School before leaving in 2000. He has been a partner in Anderson McGraw since 2001 and was a non-executive director of Thornfield Developments Ltd from 1999 to 2002, among other business appointments. Woolmer was created a Life Peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Woolmer of Leeds, of Leeds in the County of West Yorkshire in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
on 3 August 1999.
External links
- Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 19 October 1999