Mike Wood

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For other persons of the same name, see Michael Wood.

Mike Wood MP

Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 May 1997
Preceded by	Elizabeth Peacock

Born	3 March 1946 (1946-03-03) (age 62) Crewe, Cheshire, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	Leeds Metropolitan University

Michael Roy Wood (born March 3, 1946, in Crewe, Cheshire, England) is a British politician, and Labour Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen, first elected in the 1997 general election. He is a member of the left wing Socialist Campaign Group, and is considered one of the more independently minded Labour MPs.

1 Personal life
2 Political life
3 Notes
4 External links

[edit] Personal life

He was educated at Leeds Metropolitan University, gaining a degree in History and Politics, and trained as a probation officer before becoming a full time politician.

He lists his interests as reading, music, sport, ornithology and walking. He was also the founder member of two workers' co-operatives.

Mr Wood is an executive member of the Penal Affairs Group, a patron of the National Association of Market Authorities, a member of the Campaign for State Education and the Working Class Movement Library and a friend of Birzeit University

[edit] Political life

From 1980 to 1988, he represented his then hometown Cleckheaton as a councillor - during that time he was chairman of the housing committee and the social services committee and was deputy leader of Kirklees Council.

He joined the Labour Party in 1966, aged twenty. His political interests are described as: "law and order, animal welfare, transport, employment, health and the environment. He is a member of the Parliamentary groups on homelessness, transport, Indo-British affairs, AIDS, animal welfare, MS, ME, disablement, human rights, Kashmir and alcohol misuse."

He has developed a deserved reputation as a dedicated constituency MP and focuses almost all his energy and attention on the needs of his constituents. As a result, this has allowed him to become an independently minded and fiercely conscientious Parliamentarian unafraid to vote against the Government.

On 31 October 2006, Wood was one of 12 Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War.^[1]

In May 2007 he became parliamentary manager for John McDonnell's campaign to challenge Gordon Brown for the leadership of the Labour Party following Tony Blair's resignation. Source; http://www.john4leader.org.uk/