1. Barbara Keeley served as Member of Parliament for Worsley and Eccles South, previously Worsley, from 2005 to 2024, and has been a member of the House of Lords since 2024.
20 Facts About Barbara Keeley
1. 2.
Barbara Keeley previously served as Deputy Leader of the House of Commons from 2009 to 2010 and served in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet as Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Social Care from 2016 to 2020.
3.
Barbara Mary Keeley was born on 26 March 1952 to Edward and Joan Keeley.
4.
Barbara Keeley was educated at Mount St Mary's College in Leeds and the University of Salford, gaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and contemporary history.
5.
Barbara Keeley is a member of the GMB Union, the Co-operative Party and the Fabian Society.
6.
Barbara Keeley is co-author of the reports Carers Speak Out and Primary Carers.
7.
In June 2007, Barbara Keeley was appointed as PPS to Harriet Harman as Secretary of State for Women and Equality and appointed by Gordon Brown to chair the Labour Party's manifesto group on Social Care.
8.
Barbara Keeley stood in the 2010 Shadow Cabinet election, coming 23rd.
9.
Barbara Keeley was shadow minister for the Department of Communities and Local Government until October 2011.
10.
Barbara Keeley endorsed Andy Burnham in the 2015 Labour leadership election, which was won by Jeremy Corbyn, who appointed her in September 2015 as Shadow Minister for Older People, Social Care and Carers.
11.
In June 2016, Barbara Keeley was among the dozens of shadow ministers who resigned from Corbyn's frontbench team following the EU referendum.
12.
Barbara Keeley subsequently supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour leadership election.
13.
When Starmer was elected Labour leader in April 2020, Barbara Keeley left the Shadow Cabinet and returned to the backbenches.
14.
Barbara Keeley rejoined the frontbench in March 2022 when she was appointed Shadow Minister for Arts and Civil Society, replacing Rachael Maskell, who resigned 3 months prior following her opposition to mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for NHS staff.
15.
On 27 May 2024, Barbara Keeley announced she would not stand in the 2024 general election.
16.
Barbara Keeley revealed that she had recently received hospital treatment and would retire after serving as an MP for 19 years.
17.
Barbara Keeley was created Baroness Keeley, of Worsley in the City of Salford, on 13 August 2024.
18.
In 2018, Barbara Keeley expressed concern about a fall in the number of psychiatrists treating children and young people in England.
19.
In November 2018, Barbara Keeley criticised poor standards of care in many private care homes after an investigation by The Guardian found that elderly residents were being neglected.
20.
In December 2018, Barbara Keeley expressed concern about care workers having their wages docked when they are sick.