John Woodcock (politician)

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John Woodcock
MP
Shadow Minister for Transport
Assumed office
9 October 2010
Leader Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by Willie Bain
Member of Parliament
for Barrow and Furness
Assumed office
7 May 2010
Preceded by John Hutton
Majority 795 (1.8%)
Personal details
Born (1978-10-14) 14 October 1978 (age 46)
Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England[1]
Nationality British
Political party Labour Co-operative
Alma mater University of Edinburgh
Website www.johnwoodcock.org

John Zak Woodcock[2] (born 14 October 1978)[3] is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barrow and Furness since 2010.

Early and personal life

Woodcock was born in Sheffield, attended the University of Edinburgh and worked as an aide to John Hutton from 2005 to 2008 and later as Special Adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[4][5]

Parliamentary career

Woodcock was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness in the 2010 general election with a majority of 5,208.[6] He succeeded John Hutton, Labour MP for the constituency since 1992.

On 10 October 2010, only five months after being elected to Parliament, he was named a Shadow Minister for Transport. John stepped down from this post in January 2013. From July 2011-January 2013 Woodcock was Chair of Labour Friends of Israel.[7]

He was also a member of the Public Bill Committee for the Defence Reform Act 2014[8]

Until 2015, Woodcock was the chair of Progress, a corporation-, charity- and union-funded group within the British Labour Party, promoting Blairist policies within the party.[9]

In March 2015 Woodcock was reported to the UK Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to determine whether his office had breached parliamentary rules. The investigation concerned his office's use of public funds for postage-paid envelopes and whether this contravened a rule which prohibits public funds being used to support the return of a person to public office. The postage-paid envelopes had been used in relation to a local Save Our Hospital campaign, an issue the local Conservative candidate claimed was prominent on Woodcock's 2015 General Election campaign leaflets.[10] During the Commission's investigation Woodcock admitted that he should not have used public funds for such a purpose and the Commissioner upheld the complaint, finding that Woodcock contravened parliamentary rules. Woodcock returned the £1881.22, which his office had spent on the envelopes, to the House of Commons.[11]

In December 2013, Woodcock publicly announced he was suffering from depression and is now having treatment for the condition.[12]

References

  1. http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U251659/
  2. The London Gazette: no. 59418. p. 8740. 13 May 2010.
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  12. I am depressed and I have decided to get help The Independent, 5 Dec 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness
2010–present
Incumbent