Terence Henry Rooney (born 11 November 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Bradford North Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post sy ...

from 1990 to 2010. He chaired the

Work and Pensions Select Committee The Work and Pensions Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pensi ...

from 2005 to 2010, and was the first member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

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 Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...

candidate David Ward.

Early life and career

Rooney was born in Bradford in 1950, attending

Buttershaw Comprehensive School Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in the Buttershaw area of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. History It opened on 3 September 1956 as Buttershaw Second ...

and

Bradford College Bradford College is a further and higher education college in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, with approximately 25,000 students. The college offers a range of full and part-time courses from introductory level through to postgraduate l ...

, and receiving a Diploma in Higher Education at the latter. Prior to his election as the MP for

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 City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, ...

for the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

ward. He served as a councillor from 1983 to 1991, a high-profile figure known for his opposition to

Militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

, chairing the Labour Group from 1988 to 1991, and becoming Deputy Leader of the council from 1990 to 1991.

Member of Parliament

In Parliament, Rooney was elected as Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee from 2005 to 2010. Other posts he held included: *Secretary of the Yorkshire Group of Labour MPs (1991–2001). *Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party Work and Pensions Committee (1990–2006). *Member of the Broadcasting Committee (1991–1997). *

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the Minister for the Environment,

Michael Meacher Michael Hugh Meacher (4 November 1939 – 21 October 2015) was a British politician who served as a government minister under Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Tony Blair. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Ol ...

(1997–2001). *Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

Minister for Housing and Planning The Minister of State for Housing and Planning is a mid-level position in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in the British government. The position has been held by Lee Rowley since 8 September 2022. The position was formerl ...

, Keith Hill (2003–05). *Member of the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform (2003–05). *Member of the Liaison Committee (2005–10).

Political interests

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 In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or per ...

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

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

, and became the first, and only, member of the church elected to the UK Parliament during his tenure.

References

External links

*
ePolitix – Terry Rooney
official site

* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/terry_rooney/bradford_north TheyWorkForYou.com – Terry Rooney MPbr>The Public Whip – Terry Rooney MP
voting record
BBC profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Terry 1950 births Living people English Latter Day Saints Politicians from Bradford Graphical, Paper and Media Union-sponsored MPs Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010