Shaun Woodward

Shaun Woodward has one of the most intriguing arcs in modern British politics. Born in Bristol in 1958 and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, he started as a television researcher and producer before entering Parliament, then famously crossed the floor from the Conservatives to Labour, eventually serving as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2010. Switching parties invites suspicion, yet it can also be the truest test of conviction, and I find that willingness to defy expectation compelling. A man who lived in both the media's back rooms and the front line of government strikes me as unusually adaptable, and that range is what makes him worth a second look.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Name (English)

Shaun Woodward

Name (Japanese)

ショーン・ウッドワード

Reading

しょーん・うっどわーど

Born

October 26, 1958 (age 67)

Origin

Bristol, Avon, United Kingdom

Occupation

politician / media consultant

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Dog

University

Jesus College

• Official sitehttps://www.shaunwoodward.com/
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun%20Woodward
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A6%E3%83%83%E3%83%89%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q261001

Tags

• Avon
• politician
• media consultant

Last updated

September 18, 2026

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.