This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24859107
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Labour MP Shaun Woodward to step down | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Labour MP Shaun Woodward, who became a cabinet minister after defecting from the Conservatives, is to stand down at the next general election. | Labour MP Shaun Woodward, who became a cabinet minister after defecting from the Conservatives, is to stand down at the next general election. |
| Mr Woodward, who enjoyed a majority of more than 14,000 in St Helen's South and Whiston at the last election, switched to Labour in 1999. | |
| He eventually became Northern Ireland Secretary under Gordon Brown. | He eventually became Northern Ireland Secretary under Gordon Brown. |
| Mr Woodward was elected as Tory MP for Witney in Oxfordshire in 1997, quitting the seat after one parliamentary term. | |
| While David Cameron succeeded him as Witney's Tory MP, Mr Woodward went on to win St Helen's South and Whiston, one of Labour's strongholds, at the 2001 general election. | |
| Mr Woodward had fallen out with the Conservative leadership after backing the repeal of Clause 28, which banned councils and schools in England and Wales from intentionally promoting homosexuality. | |
| He is married to the Sainsbury's heiress Camilla Sainsbury, daughter of the former Conservative MP Tim Sainsbury. | |
| A Cambridge graduate, he worked as a researcher and programme editor at the BBC before entering politics. |