Phil Woolas
Encyclopedia
Philip James Woolas was a British Labour Party
politician who was the 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 at the 2010 general election campaign was declared void, he lost his seat in the House of Commons, and was barred from standing again for 3 years. Harriet Harman
, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, announced that Woolas was also suspended from the Labour Party.
, Lincolnshire, on 11 December 1959. He went to Nelson Grammar School on Oxford Road in Nelson, Lancashire
, which became Walton (Lane) High School
when the local education authority
(LEA) went comprehensive in 1972. The school is now Pendle Vale College since 2006 when the former buildings were demolished and re-developed for housing. After O levels, he went to 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
. Before becoming an MP, he was president of the National Union of Students from 1984 to 1986, 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 and head of communications at the GMB trade union
from 1991 to 1997.
, having contested the predecessor Littleborough and Saddleworth
seat at a by-election in 1995
, 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".
Lord Mandelson
admitted in his autobiography that they’d 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.”
In 1999 Woolas became parliamentary private secretary
to Lord Macdonald of Tradeston
, a Transport Minister, and became a whip
in 2001.
In 2003 he was made Deputy Leader of the House of Commons
, and in 2005 moved to the Office of the Deputy Minister to become Minister of State with responsibility for local government, later moving to the newly-created Department for Communities and Local Government
with the same responsibilities. During this time he acquired a reputation for evading any questions surrounding the failings of the Local Government Ombudsman
.
On 29 June 2007 he became Minister for the Environment at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He had responsibility for climate change
, energy and sustainable development
.
In September 2008 Woolas was criticised by the Daily Mail
for giving a House of Commons pass to Deborah Dunlop. Dunlop was at the time married to Steve Morgan, who had been Woolas's wife Tracey Allen's business partner in lobbyists Morgan Allen Moore. Dunlop was the director of a new environmental lobbying company’. Bloggers repeated a report in The Mail on Sunday
that the lobbying industry’s regulatory body said that Ms Dunlop’s arrangement with Environment Minister Mr Woolas clearly breached its code of conduct banning political consultants from holding a Commons pass or having ‘any involvement on behalf of a political party’. However, Ms Dunlop lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission
, and the Daily Mail issued a clarification that the recently established lobbying company was in fact dormant during the incident. The paper also agreed that "A suggestion she had broken the code of the Association of Professional Political Consultants was the opinion of an individual member and not of the Association itself" and apologised for any misunderstanding
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.
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. This debate is still continuing
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
.
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. The Legge enquiry into MPs' expenses cleared Phil 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.
In February 2010, following the accusations of bullying 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.
s 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
:
These proposals later were denounced in a vote at the House of Commons, with many Labour MPs voting across party lines. Woolas was later confronted at the BBC Westminster studios by the actress Joanna Lumley
(the face of the Gurkha Justice Campaign
) about the issue. After Ms Lumley pursued him around the studio, the pair held an inpromptu press conference in which she pressured him into agreeing to further talks over the settlement rights of Gurkhas. 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. 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." 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.
and represented him at events throughout the country. The Times
described Woolas as "a campaign fixer for Mr Miliband". However, Woolas officially nominated Diane Abbott
, at the request of David 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."
(MPACUK). Critics accused him, among other things, of "inflaming racial tensions" in an area that has already known race riots. 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."
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 Elwyn Watkins
in front of armed police, allegedly to imply that opponent Watkins had been arrested by police. 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 flak jacket.
Woolas won the election and was returned to Parliament with a majority of 103 votes - down from 3,590.
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".
, which makes it illegal to make false statements of fact about a candidate. Watkins claimed that leaflets issued by Woolas falsely portrayed him as taking unlawful foreign donations, and linked him to Muslim extremists.
During the court case 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." A reply from Fitzpatrick said: "If we don’t get the white vote angry he’s gone." Some have criticised these tactics in light of significant existing racial tensions in the area.
The court hearing finished on Friday 17 September 2010, with the judges reserving their judgement until 5 November 2010. On that day Woolas was found to have breached section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. The judges ruled that a fresh election for the seat should be held. 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".
Phil Woolas applied for a judicial review into the ruling, but as the Labour Party withdrew its support he had to finance it himself, and Woolas started asking for donations. The High Court rejected his request for a judicial review. 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. The judges' decision took longer than expected, with them saying that there were "difficult questions to resolve".
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 of Woolas and criticised Harman and the party for suspending Woolas.
A decision on this second request was published on 3 December 2010. Woolas was accompanied to court by the Labour Shadow Health Secretary John Healey
. 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". On leaving court, Woolas said, "It is the end of the road - I am out." A by-election to elect a new member of parliament for his former seat
was held on 13 January 2011, and won by the Labour Party candidate Debbie Abrahams
.
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." 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 Woolas from holding elected office.
and Lancashire County Cricket Club
supporter, lives in Lees, Greater Manchester
. Woolas is married to events organiser and ex-lobbyist Tracey Allen, who was a founding partner of Morgan Allen Moore lobbyists.
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...
politician who was the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Oldham East and Saddleworth from his election in 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
to 2010. He was the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration
Minister of State for Borders and Immigration
The Minister of State for Immigration is a Minister of State in the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom. The current minister is Damian Green MP who was appointed to his new post following the formation of a coalition government under David Cameron at the 2010 general...
in the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
, as well as being the Minister of State for the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
. On 5 November 2010, he was found to have breached the Representation of the People Act 1983
Representation of the People Act 1983
The Representation of the People Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways:* Amended the Representation of the People Act 1969....
in the course of the 2010 general election. As a result his victory at the 2010 general election campaign was declared void, he lost his seat in the House of Commons, and was barred from standing again for 3 years. Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, announced that Woolas was also suspended from the Labour Party.
Early life
Woolas was born in ScunthorpeScunthorpe
Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire unitary authority, and had an estimated total resident population of 72,514 in 2010. A predominantly industrial town, Scunthorpe, the United Kingdom's largest steel processing centre,...
, Lincolnshire, on 11 December 1959. He went to Nelson Grammar School on Oxford Road in Nelson, Lancashire
Nelson, Lancashire
Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....
, which became Walton (Lane) High School
Walton High School (Nelson)
Walton High School formerly Nelson Grammar School was located on Oxford Road, Nelson in Lancashire, England. The school existed between 1972 and 2006....
when the local education authority
Local Education Authority
A local education authority is a local authority in England and Wales that has responsibility for education within its jurisdiction...
(LEA) went comprehensive in 1972. The school is now Pendle Vale College since 2006 when the former buildings were demolished and re-developed for housing. After O levels, he went to Nelson and Colne College
Nelson and Colne College
Nelson & Colne College is situated in the town of Nelson, Lancashire, North West of England, providing Further Education to Pendle and the surrounding districts...
. He received a BA
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...
in Philosophy from the Victoria University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
.
Woolas joined the Labour Party at the age of 16 and became involved in student politics through the Anti-Nazi League
Anti-Nazi League
The Anti-Nazi League was an organisation set up in 1977 on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party with sponsorship from some trade unions and the endorsement of a list of prominent people to oppose the rise of far-right groups in the United Kingdom. It was wound down in 1981...
. Before becoming an MP, he was president of the National Union of Students from 1984 to 1986, a television producer for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
on Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
from 1988 to 1990 (where he became firm friends with fellow Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
supporter Michael Crick
Michael Crick
Michael Crick is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. Crick was a founding member of the Channel 4 News Team in 1982. He worked on the BBC's Newsnight between 1992 and 2011, acting as the programme's political editor from 2007 to his departure...
), producer at ITN's Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...
from 1990 to 1991 and head of communications at the GMB trade union
GMB Union
The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom, and has more than 600,000 members. Its members are drawn from many sectors, with particular strength amongst manual workers in local government and the health service...
from 1991 to 1997.
Parliamentary career
He first won his seat for Labour in the 1997 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, having contested the predecessor Littleborough and Saddleworth
Littleborough and Saddleworth (UK Parliament constituency)
Littleborough and Saddleworth was a parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
seat at a by-election in 1995
Littleborough and Saddleworth by-election, 1995
A by-election was called in the constituency of Littleborough and Saddleworth in Greater Manchester, England, on 27 July 1995 following the death of Conservative Party MP Geoffrey Dickens on 17 May of that year....
, which was marked by Labour's particularly vicious and personal campaign, attacking the Liberal Democrat candidate, Chris Davies
Chris Davies
Christopher Graham Davies is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He is a former Member of Parliament, and since 1999 he has been a Member of the European Parliament.- Biography :...
, as "high on tax and soft on drugs".
Lord Mandelson
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
admitted in his autobiography that they’d 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.”
In 1999 Woolas became parliamentary private secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Lord Macdonald of Tradeston
Gus Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of Tradeston
Angus John "Gus" Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of Tradeston, CBE, PC , is a member of the House of Lords, taking the Labour Party Whip....
, a Transport Minister, and became a whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
in 2001.
In 2003 he was made Deputy Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
, and in 2005 moved to the Office of the Deputy Minister to become Minister of State with responsibility for local government, later moving to the newly-created Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Communities and Local Government
The Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001...
with the same responsibilities. During this time he acquired a reputation for evading any questions surrounding the failings of the Local Government Ombudsman
Local Government Ombudsman
A Local Government Ombudsman is an official employed by the Commission for Local Administration in England , a body of commissioners established under the Local Government Act 1974 to investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies in England. Each of three Local Government Ombudsmen...
.
On 29 June 2007 he became Minister for the Environment at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He had responsibility for climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, energy and sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
.
In September 2008 Woolas was criticised by the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
for giving a House of Commons pass to Deborah Dunlop. Dunlop was at the time married to Steve Morgan, who had been Woolas's wife Tracey Allen's business partner in lobbyists Morgan Allen Moore. Dunlop was the director of a new environmental lobbying company’. Bloggers repeated a report in The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday
The Mail on Sunday is a British conservative newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it became Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper following the closing of The News of the World in July 2011...
that the lobbying industry’s regulatory body said that Ms Dunlop’s arrangement with Environment Minister Mr Woolas clearly breached its code of conduct banning political consultants from holding a Commons pass or having ‘any involvement on behalf of a political party’. However, Ms Dunlop lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Commission
Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission is a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC is funded by the annual levy it charges newspapers and magazines...
, and the Daily Mail issued a clarification that the recently established lobbying company was in fact dormant during the incident. The paper also agreed that "A suggestion she had broken the code of the Association of Professional Political Consultants was the opinion of an individual member and not of the Association itself" and apologised for any misunderstanding
In October 2006, Woolas was involved in the United Kingdom debate over veils
United Kingdom debate over veils
The British debate over veils began in October 2006 when the MP and government minister Jack Straw wrote in his local newspaper, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, that, while he did not want to be "prescriptive", he preferred talking to women who did not wear a niqab as he could see their face,...
, particularly the case of Aishah Azmi
Aishah Azmi
Aishah Azmi is a British Muslim woman who came to public attention in 2006 after being suspended and then dismissed from her position as a classroom assistant in a Church of England faith school for refusing to take off her niqab when required to work in a classroom alongside a male teacher...
, a Muslim teaching assistant who wore an Islamic veil
Veil
A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face.One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space...
in class.
In February 2008, he raised the question of inter-cousin marriage as a cause of the high incidence of disability within predominantly Pakistani culture
Culture of Pakistan
The society and culture of Pakistan comprises numerous diverse cultures and ethnic groups: the Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis in east, Muhajirs, Makrani in the south; Baloch and Pashtun in the west; and the ancient Dardic, Wakhi and Burusho communities in the north...
. The debate was welcomed by Ann Cryer
Ann Cryer
Constance Ann Cryer JP is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Keighley from the 1997 general election up until she stood down at the 2010 general election...
MP who cited incidences in her own constituency. This debate is still continuing
Following the cabinet re-shuffle of 3 October 2008, he was made Minister of State for Borders and Immigration
Minister of State for Borders and Immigration
The Minister of State for Immigration is a Minister of State in the Home Office of the Government of the United Kingdom. The current minister is Damian Green MP who was appointed to his new post following the formation of a coalition government under David Cameron at the 2010 general...
at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
and Minister of State for the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
.
In the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
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. The Legge enquiry into MPs' expenses cleared Phil 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.
In February 2010, following the accusations of bullying made against Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
and other members of the UK cabinet, Woolas was quoted as referring to the head of the National Bullying Helpline
National Bullying Helpline
The National Bullying Helpline was a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established as a business in 2006 by Christine and David Pratt, appearing to service the needs of victims of workplace bullying, and was awarded charity status in 2007...
, Christine Pratt, as "this prat of a woman" in a radio interview.
Gurkha Veterans' resettlement rights
In Spring 2009, Woolas was involved in a controversy regarding the rights for GurkhaGurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
s to settle in the United Kingdom
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...
. On 24 April 2009, Woolas proposed a new settlement for Gurkhas who were discharged before 1997. According to The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
:
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. Woolas was later confronted at the BBC Westminster studios by the actress Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lamond Lumley, OBE, FRGS is a British actress, voice-over artist, former-model and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon's best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive...
(the face of the Gurkha Justice Campaign
Gurkha Justice Campaign
The Gurkha Justice Campaign is a campaign group in the United Kingdom fighting for the rights of the Gurkhas.It wants the Gurkhas who fought for the UK to gain the same rights as their British and Commonwealth counterparts...
) about the issue. After Ms Lumley pursued him around the studio, the pair held an inpromptu press conference in which she pressured him into agreeing to further talks over the settlement rights of Gurkhas. On 21 May, Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Jacqui Smith
Jacqui Smith
Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...
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. 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." 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.
Labour leadership election 2010
Woolas was re-elected in the 2010 General Election, although the result would later be over-turned by an election court. Woolas gave his backing to close political ally David MilibandDavid Miliband
David Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
and represented him at events throughout the country. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
described Woolas as "a campaign fixer for Mr Miliband". However, Woolas officially nominated Diane Abbott
Diane Abbott
Diane Julie Abbott is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, when she became the first black woman to be elected to the House of Commons...
, at the request of David 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."
Re-election 2010 and election court case
In his 2010 re-election campaign, Woolas's campaigning methods were criticised by his Liberal Democrat opponents and the Muslim Public Affairs Committee UKMuslim Public Affairs Committee UK
The Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK is a not-for-profit British Muslim organization set up to address a perceived under-representation of Muslims in British politics...
(MPACUK). Critics accused him, among other things, of "inflaming racial tensions" in an area that has already known race riots. Trevor Phillips
Trevor Phillips
Trevor Phillips OBE chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is a former television executive and presenter...
, 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."
Woolas and his agent, Joe Fitzpatrick, were also responsible for photo manipulation
Photo manipulation
Photo manipulation is the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception , through analog or digital means.- Types of digital photo manipulation :...
of images in his election addresses. In one case they manipulated an image to show Elwyn Watkins
Elwyn Watkins
Robert Elwyn James Watkins, born in Rochdale, is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He narrowly lost to Labour Party candidate Phil Woolas for the Oldham East and Saddleworth seat in the 2010 general election, but the result was overturned by an election court, which found that Woolas had...
in front of armed police, allegedly to imply that opponent Watkins had been arrested by police. This was a composite image, consisting of a portrait of Watkins and a photograph of armed police patrolling London. The Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
insignia was also airbrushed from a female officer's flak jacket.
Woolas won the election and was returned to Parliament with a majority of 103 votes - down from 3,590.
Following the election of Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
as the Labour Party Leader, Woolas was reappointed to the immigration brief on the shadow front bench team. The New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
said it was a "bizarre decision" as Woolas had "run one of the most disgraceful election campaigns in recent history".
Election court case
On Friday 28 May 2010, Woolas's Liberal Democrat opponent, Elwyn Watkins, issued an election petition against the result under section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983Representation of the People Act 1983
The Representation of the People Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the British electoral process in the following ways:* Amended the Representation of the People Act 1969....
, which makes it illegal to make false statements of fact about a candidate. Watkins claimed that leaflets issued by Woolas falsely portrayed him as taking unlawful foreign donations, and linked him to Muslim extremists.
During the court case 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." A reply from Fitzpatrick said: "If we don’t get the white vote angry he’s gone." Some have criticised these tactics in light of significant existing racial tensions in the area.
The court hearing finished on Friday 17 September 2010, with the judges reserving their judgement until 5 November 2010. On that day Woolas was found to have breached section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. The judges ruled that a fresh election for the seat should be held. 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".
Phil Woolas applied for a judicial review into the ruling, but as the Labour Party withdrew its support he had to finance it himself, and Woolas started asking for donations. The High Court rejected his request for a judicial review. 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
High Court
The term High Court usually refers to the superior court of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court . In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts The term High Court usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some...
on 16 November 2010. The judges' decision took longer than expected, with them saying that there were "difficult questions to resolve".
Following the initial court result, Woolas received goodwill messages from former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
and from Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
, wife of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. Labour MP Graham Stringer
Graham Stringer
Graham Eric Stringer is a British Labour Party politician who is the current Member of Parliament for Blackley and Broughton having previously represented Manchester Blackley from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...
(Blackley and Broughton
Blackley and Broughton (UK Parliament constituency)
Blackley and Broughton is a parliamentary constituency 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.-Boundaries:...
) was vocally supportive of Woolas and criticised Harman and the party for suspending Woolas.
A decision on this second request was published on 3 December 2010. Woolas was accompanied to court by the Labour Shadow Health Secretary John Healey
John Healey
John Healey is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Wentworth and Dearne since 1997, and former Minister of State for Housing and Planning. In 2010 he was elected to the shadow cabinet and appointed shadow health secretary...
. 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". On leaving court, Woolas said, "It is the end of the road - I am out." A by-election to elect a new member of parliament for his former seat
Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election, 2011
The 2011 by-election in Oldham East and Saddleworth was a by-election for the Parliament of the United Kingdom's House of Commons constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth held on 13 January 2011...
was held on 13 January 2011, and won by the Labour Party candidate Debbie Abrahams
Debbie Abrahams
Deborah Angela Elspeth Abrahams is a British politician, who has been the Labour Member of Parliament for the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency since a by-election in January 2011. Her previous career was as a public health consultant.-Early and professional life:Abrahams was born in...
.
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." In March 2011 the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
announced that it would not bring criminal charges against Woolas as the finding of the Election Court already disqualified Woolas from holding elected office.
Personal life
Woolas, a Manchester United F.C.Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club
Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then...
supporter, lives in Lees, Greater Manchester
Lees, Greater Manchester
The village consists of a small cluster of shops and businesses on either side of the A669 Lees Road, surrounded by some terraced houses and some small estates...
. Woolas is married to events organiser and ex-lobbyist Tracey Allen, who was a founding partner of Morgan Allen Moore lobbyists.