Kenneth Woolmer

Kenneth John Woolmer, Baron Woolmer of Leeds (born 25 April 1940) is a British university lecturer and politician. Coming into politics through local government in West Yorkshire, Woolmer was elected to Parliament for the Labour Party in 1979. He became an effective Parliamentarian and was rapidly promoted, despite clearly allying to the party's right-wing and playing an active role in the intra-party conflict. Partly due to adverse boundary changes, he lost his seat in 1983 and was unable to win it back. Later in life he received a life peerage and became an active member of the House of Lords.

Woolmer was the son of Joseph Woolmer, and was educated at Kettering Grammar School, moving on to the University of Leeds where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics; after graduating he became a university lecturer at Leeds. His political career began in 1970 when he was elected as a Labour Party candidate to Leeds city council, of which he was deputy leader from 1972. In 1973 Woolmer was elected to the new Leeds city council and to West Yorkshire county council which had been created as part of local government reorganisation. At the 1970 Labour Party conference, Woolmer (as the delegate from Leeds North West Constituency Labour Party) seconded a motion calling for abolition of all private medicine. That year he fought Leeds North West at the general election, coming second.

As deputy leader and chairman of the planning and transport committee of West Yorkshire county council, Woolmer announced in July 1974 the beginning of a campaign for industrial and commercial development. In 1976 he called for Government support for electronics industries which were locating in West Yorkshire, after a Rank Radio factory made 200 workers redundant. Woolmer was chairman of the planning and transportation committee of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities from 1974 to 1977, and later became Leader of West Yorkshire county council.

...
Wikipedia