John Woodcock, Baron Walney
John Zak Woodcock, Baron Walney (born 14 October 1978) is a British politician and life peer who acts as the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption. He formerly served as a Labour and then independent Member of Parliament (MP) for Barrow and Furness from 2010 to 2019. He has sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords since 2021, previously sitting as a non-affiliated peer.
The Right Honourable The Lord Walney | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Shadow Minister for Young People | |
| In office 8 May 2015 – 18 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Harriet Harman (acting) |
| Preceded by | Yvonne Fovargue |
| Succeeded by | Gordon Marsden |
| Shadow Minister for Transport | |
| In office 8 October 2010 – 11 January 2013 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Willie Bain |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Zeichner |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 15 September 2020 Life Peerage | |
| Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | John Hutton |
| Succeeded by | Simon Fell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Zak Woodcock 14 October 1978 Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England |
| Political party | Independent (2018–present) Labour Co-op (until 2018) |
| Other political affiliations | Crossbench (2021–present) Non-affiliated (2020–21) The Independents (2019) |
| Spouse(s) |
Mandy Telford
(m. 2004; div. 2015) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Website | Official website |
Prior to his election to Parliament, Woodcock was a political adviser who worked as an aide to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and John Hutton. He served as a Shadow Transport Minister from 2010 to 2013 under opposition leader Ed Miliband, and briefly as a Shadow Education Minister in 2015 under Harriet Harman. Woodcock was appointed an Independent Adviser on Political Violence and Disruption to the UK Government in November 2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed him as UK Trade Envoy to Tanzania in 2021.