Former Labour minister dies after cancer battle
Published: 14 March 2026, 5:31:29
Former Oldham MP Phil Woolas had been diagnosed with brain cancer
A former Labour MP and minister had died aged 66 after suffering from brain cancer for years, his family have said.
Phil Woolas, who served in both the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments and as MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth between 1997 and 2010, died on Saturday morning.
The Scunthorpe-born politician held several ministerial roles including for local government, environment and immigration.
His family and close friends said in a statement: “For more than a year he battled the brain cancer, glioblastoma. He leaves his wife Tracey, his sons Josh and Jed and a new grandson, and many friends and former colleagues who will all miss him greatly.”
Before entering Parliament, he was the NUS president, a TV producer and GMB union communications director.
In a notable moment at the Home Office, Woolas was confronted during a live press conference by actor Joanna Lumley to make concessions over the rights of Gurkhas to remain in the UK.
In 2010, he was banned from politics for three years after a court found he had made false statements in his winning campaign for the Oldham East and Saddleworth seat.
He won the seat by 103 votes but the result was declared void by an election court.
