William Ross Laney (4 May 1913 – 7 August 1998) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament representing the Labour Party, and Mayor of Oamaru.

[3] This was compounded by the fact that the incumbent mayor he defeated, Michael Francis Edward Cooney, was a prominent member of the local National Party.

[5] Laney contested the Oamaru electorate in the 1972 election, and defeated the incumbent, National's Allan Dick by a 390 votes majority.

[7] Laney was described as a man of integrity not prepared to compromise his principles and opposed the influence liquor industry lobbyists had over politicians during his time as an MP.

[8] After losing his seat in Parliament Laney stood for the Oamaru mayoralty once again at the 1977 local elections, but was beaten by the deputy mayor Reginald James Denny by 1,415 votes.