OBITUARY:
The former Labour minister Phil Woolas has died at the age of 66 following a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer. He passed away in the early hours of Saturday 14 March 2026, surrounded by family and close friends. Serving as the Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth from 1997 to 2010, Woolas was a central figure in the New Labour era, holding a series of ministerial posts under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Born in Scunthorpe in 1959, Woolas began his lifelong commitment to the Labour Party at 16. He rose to national prominence as the president of the National Union of Students from 1984 to 1986 before embarking on a career in television production for BBC Newsnight and Channel 4 News. Before entering Parliament, he also served as the head of communications for the GMB trade union. In Government, he held several key portfolios, serving as a whip and as a Minister for Local Government and the Environment before becoming Minister of State for Borders and Immigration in 2008. His tenure in the Home Office was famously marked by a live televised confrontation with actor Joanna Lumley over the settlement rights of Gurkha veterans, a campaign that ultimately led to a government policy reversal.
His political career ended in unprecedented controversy following the 2010 general election. Although he narrowly retained his seat, a specially convened election court—the first of its kind in 99 years—ruled that he had breached electoral law by making deliberately false statements about his Liberal Democrat opponent. The ruling resulted in his removal from Parliament and a five-year ban from public office. In the years following his political career, he established a successful political and risk consultancy and dedicated over 25 years to chairing The Ace Centre, an Oldham-based charity providing assistive technology for people with communication difficulties.
Tributes from across the political spectrum have described him as a fierce but popular fighter for his party. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair remembered him as an “outstanding member” of his government and a source of “rich political insight” while Gordon Brown praised him as a “brilliant MP” and a “popular friend”. He is survived by his wife, Tracey Jane Allen, their two sons, Josh and Jed, and a grandson born just weeks before his death.