Hundreds pay tribute to Oldham's Phil Woolas at London funeral

Hundreds of mourners, including three former Prime Ministers, gathered at St Margaret's Church in Westminster yesterday to pay their final respects to Phil Woolas, the former Labour MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth who died last month at 66 after battling brain cancer.

The service drew an extraordinary cross-section of British political life-current Prime Minister Keir Starmer, former PMs Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, and Defence Secretary John Healey among them. For Oldham residents, it marked the passing of a politician who served their communities for 13 years and held ministerial positions across two Labour governments.

Woolas represented Oldham East and Saddleworth from 1997 to 2010, serving as whip, deputy leader of the Commons, and holding portfolios in local government, environment, and immigration. Before Parliament, he worked as NUS president, TV producer, and GMB union communications director-a career path that gave him deep roots in both national politics and working-class communities.

Local residents remembered him fondly. One recalled Woolas visiting his parents' home on election night 1997, unable to contain his excitement about Labour's landslide victory. Another praised his sensitivity during the aftermath of the London bombings.