Barbara Keeley was elected as the MP for Worsley in May 2005 and re-elected as the MP for Worsley and Eccles South in May 2010.
Barbara was brought up in Leeds attending Mount St Mary’s College and studied at Salford University, gaining a BA in Politics and Contemporary History.
Barbara has much useful career experience in the private and voluntary sectors. Her early career was in the Information Technology Industry, working as a Systems Engineer and Systems Engineering Manager for IBM. Barbara also served as a councillor for 9 years in Trafford where she was council cabinet member for Education and services for children and young people, responsible for a budget of over £100 million. Barbara also worked as an adviser on community regeneration projects across Greater Manchester and as an adviser to a national charity for carers, for whom she co-wrote three national reports on carers’ issues. Barbara is a member of the GMB union, Lancashire region.
Barbara was appointed Deputy Leader of the House of Commons by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in June 2009. She was an Assistant Government Whip between September 2008 and May 2009. Barbara previously had a role as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Harriet Harman as Minister for Women and Equality from June 2007. She was also Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office in February 2006 and a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jim Murphy MP at the Department of Work and Pensions from 2006 to 2007.
As a backbench MP, Barbara became vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Carers and led debates on improving the quality of services to support carers. She introduced two Private Members Bills on the Identification and Support of Carers. In June 2007, Barbara was appointed by Gordon Brown to lead the Labour Party’s manifesto work on Social Care. Barbara was Parliamentary Champion for Carers week in 2007 and at the end of 2008 she was awarded the Charity Champions Social Welfare Award for helping to make sure carers voices are heard in Parliament.
Barbara has served on the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons and is currently a member of the Finance and Services Committee. Barbara has also been a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Primary Care and Public Health, Regeneration, Trade Justice and Treasury/Secretary of the Tibet group.
Barbara’s policy interests include Equality, Health, Carers, Regeneration and her country interests include the EU and the Middle East.
