From 1980 to 1988, he represented his then hometown
Cleckheaton as a councillor; during that time, he was chairman of the housing committee and the social services committee and was deputy leader of
Kirklees Council. In the
1987 election, he contested the
safe Conservative seat of
Hexham. He joined the Labour Party in 1966, aged 20. His political interests are described as law and order, animal welfare, transport, employment, health and the environment. He was a member of the Parliamentary groups on homelessness, transport, Indo-British affairs,
AIDS, animal welfare,
multiple sclerosis,
chronic fatigue syndrome, disablement, human rights,
Kashmir and
alcohol abuse. Wood was also secretary of Parliament's Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Harm Reduction group. In addition, he was an executive member of the All Party Penal Affairs Group. He is a patron of the National Association of British Market Authorities, a member of the Campaign for State Education and the
Working Class Movement Library and a friend of
Birzeit University in Palestine. In 2003, he voted against
parliamentary approval for the invasion of Iraq. On 31 October 2006, Wood was one of 12 Labour MPs to back
Plaid Cymru and the
Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the
Iraq War. In May 2007 he became parliamentary manager for
John McDonnell's campaign to challenge
Gordon Brown for the leadership of the Labour Party following
Tony Blair's resignation. He stood down at the
general election in 2015. ==Personal life==