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Terry Rooney (politician)

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Terry Rooney
Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee
In office
18 July 2005 – 6 May 2010
Preceded byThe Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
Succeeded byAnne Begg
Member of Parliament
for Bradford North
In office
8 November 1990 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byPat Wall
Succeeded byDavid Ward (Bradford East)
Member of Bradford Council
for University
In office
5 May 1983 – 2 May 1991
Preceded byGary Armitage
Succeeded byA. Ahmed
Personal details
Born
Terence Henry Rooney

(1950-11-11) 11 November 1950 (age 73)
Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Political partyLabour
SpouseSusanne Rooney
Children3
Residence(s)Bradford, England
EducationBradford College
Buttershaw Comprehensive School
OccupationWelfare Rights Adviser

Terence Henry Rooney (born 11 November 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford North from 1990 to 2010.[1][2]

He chaired the Work and Pensions Select Committee from 2005 to 2010, and was the first member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints elected to the UK Parliament. Rooney's constituency was replaced by Bradford East in boundary changes for the 2010 general election, and he was defeated in the new seat by the Liberal Democrat candidate David Ward.[2]

Early life and career

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Rooney was born in Bradford in 1950, attending Buttershaw Comprehensive School and Bradford College, and receiving a Diploma in Higher Education at the latter.

Prior to his election as the MP for Bradford North in a by-election in November 1990, he was a welfare rights adviser at the Bierley Community Centre and a member of Bradford City Council for the University ward. He served as a councillor from 1983 to 1991, a high-profile figure known for his opposition to Militant,[3] chairing the Labour Group from 1988 to 1991, and becoming Deputy Leader of the council from 1990 to 1991.

Member of Parliament

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In Parliament, Rooney was elected as Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee from 2005 to 2010. Other posts he held included:

Political interests

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Rooney's main political interests are the welfare state, public sector housing, poverty and industrial relations. He is an active trade unionist and a member of UNISON and formerly Amicus, for which he was the chair of the Amicus Parliamentary Group. Rooney is a firm supporter of the retention of first-past-the-post for Westminster elections, and has also supported more directly redistributive tax and spend policies.

Personal life

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Rooney is married to Susanne, a former Bradford councillor, with whom he has three children and nine grandchildren.

He is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and became the first, and only, member of the church elected to the UK Parliament during his tenure.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Mp, Labour (21 October 2002). "Terry Rooney". BBC News. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Election 2010: Bradford East". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  3. ^ "Terry Rooney". 21 October 2002. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Member of the Church elected to Parliament in England". Church News. 17 November 1990. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Bradford North
19902010
Constituency abolished
see Bradford East