He was first elected in the 1997 general election as the Conservative Party MP for the constituency of Witney but changed to Labour in 1999. At the 2001 General Election he was made the MP for the St Helens South constituency and was the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2010. When Ed Miliband became Labour leader, Shaun Woodward was made the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. 