Barbara Keeley was elected as the Labour MP for Worsley in 2005, and was reelected in 2019 with a majority of 3,219.
She currently serves as Shadow Minister for Music and Tourism, having been appointed to the role in Keir Starmer’s September 2023 reshuffle.
The constituency of Worsley and Eccles South is found to the west of Greater Manchester, covering the western half of the City of Salford alongside the small towns of Walkden, Worsley, Irlam and Cadisehead. A former mining area which is dissected by a ship canal, this is an economically mixed seat which includes part of the Manchester green belt. This is a long standing Labour area, albeit the Conservatives came close to winning the seat in 2019. Some three fifths of the electorate backed Brexit in the 2016 EU referendum.
Keeley served in the last Labour government. In October 2008 she was appointed an Assistant Whip. Between 2009-10, she served briefly as the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons.
Keeley previously served as the shadow minister for civil society. She was also the Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Social Care between 2016 and 2020.
Keeley resigned from the Shadow Cabinet in 2016 in protest at Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. She subsequently backed Owen Smith in his 2016 leadership challenge to Jeremy Corbyn. She supported Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour leadership contest.
Born in 1952, Keeley was brought up in Leeds. She studied at Salford University, gaining a BSc in Politics and Contemporary History.
In her early career Barbara worked for a number of years in the computer industry for IBM. She has worked as a consultant and manager with local, regional and national charities and voluntary organisations.
Keeley was elected to Trafford Council between 1995 and 2004, and served as the Cabinet Portfolio holder for Services for Children and Young People and for Health and Well-being.
Barbara Keeley is Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Ageing and Older People; Classical Music; and Social Work. She is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Film and Broader Screen; Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood; Learning Disabilities; Motor Neurone Disease; and Tennis.
Keeley recovered from breast cancer in 2019.
Email: keeleyb@parliament.uk
Personal Website: http://www.barbarakeeley.co.uk/
Twitter: twitter.com/keeleymp
