David Blunkett

The Right Honourable David Blunkett MP
Blunkett in April 2010
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 6 May 2005 – 2 November 2005
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Alan Johnson
Succeeded by	John Hutton
Home Secretary
In office 8 June 2001 – 15 December 2004
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Jack Straw
Succeeded by	Charles Clarke
Secretary of State for Education and Employment
In office 2 May 1997 – 8 June 2001
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Gillian Shephard
Succeeded by	Estelle Morris (at DES)
Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment
In office 20 October 1994 – 2 May 1997
Leader	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Ann Taylor
Succeeded by	Gillian Shephard
Shadow Secretary of State for Health
In office 18 July 1992 – 20 October 1994
Leader	John Smith Margaret Beckett
Preceded by	Robin Cook
Succeeded by	Margaret Beckett
Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough Sheffield Brightside (1987-2010)
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 June 1987
Preceded by	Joan Maynard
Majority	13,632 (35%)
Personal details
Born	(1947-06-06) 6 June 1947 Sheffield, England
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	University of Sheffield, Huddersfield Holly Bank College of Education (PGCE)
Religion	Methodism

David Blunkett (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010. Blind since birth, and coming from a poor family in one of Sheffield's most deprived districts, he rose to become Education and Employment Secretary, Home Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary in Tony Blair's Cabinet following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election.

He was promoted to become Home Secretary following the 2001 general election, a position he held until 2004, when he resigned following highly publicised matters related to his personal life. Following the 2005 general election, he was appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, though he resigned from that role later that year following a large amount of media coverage relating to external business interests in the period when he did not hold a cabinet post.

Early life

Blunkett was born on 6 June 1947 at Jessop Hospital, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, with improperly developed optic nerves due to a rare genetic disorder. He grew up in an underprivileged family and in 1959, he endured a family tragedy when his father was gravely injured in an industrial accident in which he fell into a vat of boiling water while at work as a foreman for the East Midlands Gas Board and died a month later. This left the surviving family in poverty, especially since the board refused to pay compensation for two years because his father worked past the retirement age, dying at age 67.

Blind since birth, Blunkett was educated at schools for the blind in Sheffield and Shrewsbury. He was never sent for assessment at the School for the Blind in Worcester, and instead attended the Royal National College for the Blind in Shrewsbury. He was apparently told at school that one of his few options in life was to become a lathe operator. Nevertheless, he won a place at the University of Sheffield, where he gained a BA honours degree in Political Theory and Institutions; one of his lecturers was Bernard Crick. He entered local politics on graduation, whilst gaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Huddersfield Holly Bank College of Education. He spent a total of six years going to evening classes and day-release classes to get the qualifications needed to go to university. He worked as a clerk typist between 1967 and 1969 and as a lecturer in industrial relations and politics between 1973 and 1981.

Local council

Blunkett became the youngest-ever councillor on Sheffield City Council and in Britain, being elected in 1970 at the age of 22 while a mature student. He served on Sheffield City Council from 1970 to 1988, becoming Leader from 1980 to 1987 and on South Yorkshire County Council from 1973 to 1977. This was a time of decline for Sheffield's steel industry. The Conservative MP for Sheffield Hallam, Sir Irvine Patnick, coined the phrase "People's Republic of South Yorkshire" to describe the left-wing politics of its local government; Sheffield was designated as a nuclear-free zone. Blunkett became known as the leader of one of the furthest left of the Labour councils,. Blunkett was one of the faces of the protest over rate-capping in 1985 which saw several Labour councils refuse to set a budget in a protest against Government powers to restrain their spending. He built up support within the Labour Party during his time as the council's leader during the 1980s and was elected to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee.

Member of Parliament

At the 1987 general election he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside with a large majority in a safe Labour seat. He became a party spokesman on local government, joined the shadow cabinet in 1992 as Shadow Health Secretary and became Shadow Education Secretary in 1994.

Education and employment secretary

After Labour's landslide victory in the 1997 general election, he became Secretary of State for Education and Employment. (Sometimes he is called the first blind cabinet minister, but in fact Henry Fawcett, husband of suffragist Millicent Fawcett, was a member of the Privy Council more than a century before.) The role of education secretary was a vital one in a government whose prime minister had in 1996 described his priority as "education, education, education" and which had made reductions in school class sizes a pledge.

As Secretary of State, Blunkett pursued tough policies, ready to take on the teaching unions and determined to ensure basic standards of literacy and numeracy. He was rewarded with extra funding to cut class sizes, and subsequently since 1997 there has been a massive increase in literacy and numeracy, and there are 42,000 more teachers than in 1997 with doubled spending per pupil in frontline schools (and over 100,000 teaching assistants) through to 2010. A key pillar of Blunkett's work as Education Secretary was the introduction of Sure Start, a government programme which provides services for pre-school children and their families. It works to bring together early education, childcare, health and family support. In 2011 the government effectively started the abolition of Sure Start by lifting the ring fence on earmarked funding and cutting back drastically on the funds available.

Blunkett also led the massive expansion in higher education. He provided largescale investment in universities in the UK and one recent study has shown that universities are now educating more than one-quarter more students than they did ten years ago and receiving double the income they did.

Also in this position, Blunkett launched Learning & Skills Councils, created Job Centre Plus and had responsibility for the Equal Opportunities Commission, as well as establishing the Disability Rights Commission (as Home Secretary he was also responsible for the Commission on Racial Equality – all three of these bodies were incorporated later into the Equality and Human Rights Commission).

In 1999, Blunkett proposed that sex education should not be pursued until children have left primary school at 11, reportedly arguing that childhood, the "age of innocence", should not be compromised by "graphic" sex education. In 2000, while attempting to cool opposition to the proposed abolition of the Local Government Act 1988's Section 28, he issued guidelines on the importance of 'family values' in teaching children sex education.

Blunkett introduced the teaching of Citizenship in schools in 1999, arguing that "We want to ensure that there's a basis of traditional knowledge that's available to all children." Citizenship education provides pupils with the knowledge, skills and understanding to become informed citizens, aware of their rights, duties and responsibilities. The Coalition Government have proposed to end Citizenship teaching.

Home secretary

At the start of the Labour government's second term in 2001, Blunkett was promoted to Home Secretary, fulfilling an ambition of his. Observers saw him as future Prime Minister, and a rival to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's hopes to succeed Blair.

Blunkett was almost immediately faced with the 11 September terrorist attacks on America. He brought in new anti-terrorism measures, including detention without trial of suspect foreign nationals who couldn't be extradited or deported. It caused a backbench rebellion and provoked strong opposition in the House of Lords, and Blunkett made concessions over incitement to religious hatred (later carried through by his successor) and to introduce a "sunset clause".

As Home Secretary he was prepared to confront the judiciary and the police, with proposals for civilian community patrols and changes to police officers' pay and working conditions. More than 7,000 police demonstrated outside Parliament in 2002.

Also during his term in office the massive upsurge in asylum claims was reversed, the Sangatte refugee camp on French soil was closed, and refugees numbers subsequently dropped from 110,000 to less than 30,000. With an additional 15,000 police officers and 6,500 Community Support Officers by 2004, crime had reached an all-time low with over a 40% drop from ten years earlier.

A controversial area for Blunkett was civil liberties, which he famously described as "airy fairy". As Education Secretary, he had repeatedly expressed the intention that, were he to become Home Secretary, he would make the then-incumbent Jack Straw, who had been criticised for being hard-line, seem overly liberal. An indication of what he meant came in October 2002, when there was a serious riot at Lincoln Prison. Martin Narey, then Director General of HM Prison Service, recounts that when informed of the riot, Blunkett became hysterical and 'shrieked' that the prison must be re-taken without regard to loss of life and that rioters should be machine-gunned if necessary. Narey concluded that Blunkett was not up to the job. Blunkett denied this version of events.

Blunkett radically overhauled 'Victorian' sex offences legislation in 2002, which modernised the sex offences laws dramatically in relation to same-sex and related issues by sweeping away the archaic laws governing homosexuality, while tightening protections against rapists, paedophiles and other sex offenders. The act closed a loophole that had allowed those accused of child rape to escape punishment by arguing the act was consensual and a new offence of adult sexual activity with a child, which covers any sex act that takes place between an adult and a child under 16, was introduced. It was supported by all major political parties in the UK.

First resignation

During his time as Home Secretary, Blunkett (who was not married) had a three-year relationship with the then publisher of the Spectator magazine. This ended acrimoniously in August 2004, after revelations were published in the then News of the World.

Blair regarded it proper for Blunkett to remain Home Secretary while trying to ascertain paternity of her son as it appeared of no relevance to his ministerial position. However, at the end of November 2004, it was alleged that Blunkett abused his position to assist his ex-lover's Filipina nanny, Leoncia "Luz" Casalme, by speeding up her residence visa application and later using his influence to ensure that she successfully obtained an Austrian tourist visa. An investigation into these allegations was launched, led by Sir Alan Budd. Though there was no evidence Blunkett was responsible for the email or its title, he resigned as Home Secretary on 15 December 2004, saying that questions about his honesty were damaging the government. Budd's report says:

“

I believe there are two broad possibilities: Mr Blunkett was seeking special help for Mrs Quinn's nanny (or) he was raising the case as an example of the poor performance of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). I do not have direct evidence that allows me to choose between the two possibilities.

”

A fax from Blunkett's Assistant Private Secretary, Rebecca Razavi, to the IND had not been found during the inquiry but Sir Alan found no evidence of an attempt to conceal or destroy evidence. Following the report's publication, he told reporters: "I have been unable to link Mr Blunkett to the sending of faxes to the IND. There must have been such a link but I have been unable to discover what its nature was."

Blunkett resigned as Home Secretary after being told in advance of Budd's findings. He said: "I want to make it clear that I fully accept the findings of Sir Alan's report, where his findings differ from my recollections this is simply due to failure on my part to recall details."

On the day that Sir Alan delivered his report, a Parliamentary standards committee led by Sir Philip Mawer also upheld a complaint against Blunkett for giving Quinn a taxpayer-funded railway ticket (reserved for MPs' spouses) to the value of £179. Blunkett had already admitted that he had broken the rules, saying that he had made an honest mistake, and repaid the sum in question.

Blunkett was not helped by a series of stinging criticisms of his Cabinet colleagues, made by Blunkett to his biographer Stephen Pollard, which became public days before he resigned. His increasingly public paternity battle (see Private life) was also believed by many to be harming his position. However, many believed that he would be able to salvage his political career.

Return to the cabinet

Following the 2005 general election Blunkett was returned to the cabinet as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, where he faced a growing pensions crisis, although it is known Tony Blair wanted to make him the new minister for Anti-social behaviour within the cabinet at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister but this was snubbed by John Prescott. Characteristically he was already at work on the morning of Saturday 7 May, a matter of hours after his appointment. He was to be seen the previous day (the day after the election) anxiously awaiting a telephone call from the PM during the centenary celebrations at the University of Sheffield, to which he was invited as a speaker.

Second resignation

Two weeks before the 2005 general election he took up a directorship in a company called DNA Bioscience and bought £15 000 of shares in the company. After sustained sniping by opponents over a 6 month period, Mr Blunkett was asked on 31 October 2005 to explain why he had not consulted the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments regarding the directorship. Having placed the shares into an independent trust, "Mr Blunkett said he had asked his three grown-up sons from his first marriage to authorise trustees to "dispose of" the shares. They agreed to the request."

Blunkett's political opponents claimed that a conflict of interest was created by him having been director of and holding shares in a company proposing to bid for government contracts to provide paternity tests to the Child Support Agency – part of the Department for Work and Pensions, of which he was Secretary of State.

Blunkett declared that he would not be resigning, saying to a newspaper, "I have done nothing wrong." A statement by Downing Street said that the Prime Minister did not believe that Blunkett's mistake should prevent him from carrying out his job. Blunkett had taken two other paid jobs, one with the international Jewish training and education charity World ORT, and the other with Indepen Consulting, again without seeking advice from the Advisory Committee.

On 2 November, Lord Nolan, a former Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and architect of the code of conduct, was reported as having said in an interview with the Yorkshire Post, "I think he's more or less admitted that he should have followed the rules. But I think it's the fault of the Government that he has been allowed to see if he can get away with it."

On the same day, a scheduled appearance before a House of Commons Select Committee was cancelled at the last minute and Blunkett was summoned to a meeting at Number 10. Later that morning, a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed Blunkett had resigned at the meeting, stating that his position had become untenable.

Indeed, Blunkett was later found to have not broken the ministerial code. On 25 November 2005, after he had resigned, Sir Gus O'Donnell wrote to Blunkett confirming that there was no conflict of interest, no failure to declare either Blunkett's shareholding or brief business connection with the company. O'Donnell wrote:

"The issue of shareholdings and trusts and the handling of private interests more generally is of course covered quite extensively in Section 5 of the Ministerial Code. There is no ban on a Minister, or his or her immediate family members, holding such interests but where they do the Minister must ensure that no conflict arises, or appears to arise, between his or her public duties and such private interests."

"In terms of the handling of your interests, and those of your family, you followed correct procedure in notifying your Permanent Secretary of your interests. Neither the DWP nor the CSA were in any contractual relationship with DNA Bioscience, and the CSA's contract for biometric testing was not due to be renewed for some years."

Sir Gus O’Donnell also confirmed that the Advisory Committee on Ministerial Appointments, which had been the bone of contention up to the beginning of November 2005, was in fact voluntary. The code was changed in 2007 to make clear that references prior to taking business appointments shortly after leaving government was to be mandatory as part of the ministerial code.

John Hutton was appointed as David Blunkett's successor that day. Blunkett's children's trustees decided not to sell the shares in DNA Bioscience after all. In December 2005 it was reported that the company faces insolvency, resulting in Blunkett's shares being worth very little.

Despite his resignation from the cabinet in November, Blunkett initially kept his ministerial accommodation in Belgravia, London, until he found new accommodation 4 months later. He also rents a cottage on the estate of Chatsworth House.

Backbenches

Blunkett continues to represent the constituency of Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.

He is a Vice President of the RNIB and a vice president of the National Alzheimer’s Society, and has close links with a range of other charities (local to Sheffield and nationally) including those relating to substance abuse and breast cancer, and is a Patron of the recently launched Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (ENEI). He is also a long standing Patron of MACS (The Micro & Anophthalmic Children's Society) - the UK's only charity supporting families of children born without eyes or with underdeveloped eyes. He is also a former Honorary Chair of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA-UK) Advisory Board and the current Chairman of the not-for-profit International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA).

One of his main interests is volunteering and community service. He recently published a pamphlet calling for a National Volunteer Programme, which received a wide range of support, particularly among third sector organisations. Since then, Blunkett has commenced putting together and becoming a founder of the Future For Youth Foundation, which aims to realise the proposal outlined in his pamphlet.

He was a key voice in the 'No to AV' campaign in 2010-11 and has spoken out against the Government's proposed boundary changes.

In September 2012 he published In Defence of Politics Revisited, where he set out a range of proposals to increase faith in, and improve the working of, democratic politics. Most recently he was awarded status as an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Personal life

Blunkett divorced his wife, by whom he had three sons, in 1990. In 2004 the News of the World revealed a three-year affair with publisher Kimberly Quinn and the disputed parentage of their two-year-old child. After prolonged press speculation DNA tests showed that Blunkett was the father and the subsequent rulings of the Family Court gave him Contact and Responsibility.

In 2005 there was more speculation about Blunkett's private life, this time regarding a young woman he met at an exclusive London nightclub, Annabel's. The matter with the young woman was cleared up following a full apology from the newspaper which printed the original story in which the paper accepted that the story was entirely false, and he resigned his membership at the nightclub.

On 27 January 2009, Blunkett announced that he was engaged to be married to Dr Margaret Williams, a doctor in the city of Sheffield. On 3 October 2009 they were married at Victoria Hall Methodist Church, Sheffield. On 6 June 2009, he was walking in Derbyshire and was injured by a "charging cow", suffering from a broken rib and "painful bruising".

He once owned a budgerigar called "Bimbo". This was also his secret unlock code for the information on his I.D card

He is a lifelong Sheffield Wednesday supporter. His interests include poetry, walking and music, and he has written about wine and travel.

Guide dogs

Blunkett's guide dogs – Ruby, Teddy, Offa, Lucy, Sadie and most recently Cosby have become familiar characters in the House of Commons, usually sleeping at his feet on the floor of the chamber, inspiring occasional witty comments from Blunkett and his fellow MPs on both sides of the house. In one memorable incident, Lucy (a black Labrador curly coat retriever cross) vomited during a speech by Conservative member David Willetts. On occasions when Blunkett was guided by (ex-Prime Minister) Tony Blair the wry comment has been made: "who is guiding whom?" Another time, his (new) guide dog led him to the Conservative Party benches.

Writings

Main article: The Blunkett Tapes

In October 2006, David Blunkett's audio diaries were published in his book The Blunkett tapes: My life in the bear pit. The tapes detail his time as a cabinet minister until the present date, and provide insights into the workings of the Labour cabinet. They were recorded every week, and contain his view of what was happening in Cabinet at the time, alongside contemporary reflections and more recent thoughts on the events.

Blunkett has also co-authored a number of publications including Building from the Bottom (1982), published by the Fabian Societiey, and Democracy in Crisis (1987), published by Hogarth, which described the battle between local and central government in the Thatcher years. He has also contributed chapters to many books relating to politics and social policy.

Speaking career

Outside politics David Blunkett enjoys a career as a popular conference and after dinner speaker. His booking agency JLA state that his speech topics include "The Political Landscape, Overcoming Adversity, Social Responsibility and Diversity." He has also been appointed as a visiting lecturer at London School of Business and Finance (LSBF). His first lecture, delivered at LSBF’s Marble Arch campus, focused on the key aspects of leadership, and the qualities needed to be an effective leader in both business and politics. David Blunkett is available for hire for events as guest lecturer or speaker through a variety of different agents including The Edge, and Speakers Corner

Interests outside Parliament

In February 2012, Blunkett renewed a contract with News International as an adviser on Social Responsibility at a salary of £49,500 pa.

Since 2011, David Blunkett is a visiting lecturer at the London School of Business and Finance.

Popular culture references

David Blunkett has been portrayed in various dramatic or musical forms. Blunkett was featured in Who's The Daddy?, a play by Toby Young and Lloyd Evans, The Spectator magazine's theatre critics, which ran at The King's Head Theatre in mid-2005. The satirist Alistair Beaton wrote the television film A Very Social Secretary, for Channel 4, which was screened in October 2005.

Comedian Linda Smith once described Blunkett as "Satan's bearded folk singer". He is the topic of the song Blindness by Manchester group The Fall. He appears regularly both on news and magazine programmes, including presenting editions of Radio 4’s 'In Touch', and he was the subject of one episode of The House I Grew up In.

Blunkett was frequently mentioned in comedy panel show Mock the Week

Television

David Blunkett has made many radio and television appearances. He took part in a celebrity version of Mastermind, where his specialist subject was Harry Potter.

David Blunkett was featured on the channel five documentary series 'Banged up' in 2008. The show followed 10 teenagers sent to a fake jail for 10 days to see if it could change their criminal ways. He was involved in various ways, one of which was being on the panel when the teenagers were up for parole. The programme described how rehabilitation rather than custody could be a real option for the future

David Blunkett appeared as a celebrity chef, competing against Gordon Ramsay, on season 4 episode 4 of the British television series The F Word.

David Blunkett was interviewed as part of Armando Iannucci's examination of "Milton's Paradise Lost", which screened in May 2009. In it Blunkett speculates on how Milton's service in Oliver Cromwell's government might have affected his beliefs and jokingly quotes the media as saying "He [Blunkett] is no Milton."

Bibliography

• Blunkett, David; Jackson, Keith (1987). Democracy in Crisis: The Town Halls Respond. Hogarth Press. ISBN 978-0-7012-0777-9. 
• Blunkett, David (2001). Politics and Progress: Renewing Democracy and a Civil Society. Demos. ISBN 978-1-84275-024-7. 
• Blunkett, David; MacCormick, Alex (2002). On a Clear Day (Revised ed.). Michael O'Mara Books. ISBN 978-1-84317-007-5. 
• Blunkett, David (16 October 2006). The Blunkett Tapes: My life in the bear pit. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-8823-8. 
• Minogue, Kenneth. Civil Society and David Blunkett: Lawyers Vs. Politicians. Civitas. (2002). ISBN 978-1-903386-22-4
• Pollard, Stephen (14 December 2004). David Blunkett. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-82534-1. 

External links

• David Blunkett MP official constituency blog
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Current session contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Electoral history and profile at The Guardian
• Voting record at PublicWhip.org
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
• Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
• Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Works by or about David Blunkett in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• David Blunkett collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• David Blunkett collected news and commentary at The Scotsman
• What is Labour for?, John Lancaster, London Review of Books, 31 March 2005, review of the biography David Blunkett by Stephen Pollard

Resignation as Home Secretary

• BBC News In Depth – Blunkett Resignation
• Text of David Blunkett's resignation statement
• Budd Report (fast-tracking of visa)
• Mawer Report (inappropriate use of taxpayer-funded rail ticket)
• British Home Secretary quits amid scandal

Further political trouble

• Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
• The Ministerial Code
• Disclosure of non-sale of shares

Pay out for leaving the Cabinet and return

• Blunkett got £18,000 payoff (and then came back)

Paternity battle

• "Blunkett 'did not father child'" – BBC News
• Evening Standard – Blunkett Prepares for Court Battle 22 November 2004

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Joan Maynard	Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside 1987–2010	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough 2010–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by George Wilson	Leader of Sheffield City Council 1980–1987	Succeeded by Clive Betts
Preceded by Gillian Shephard	Secretary of State for Education and Employment 1997–2001	Succeeded by Estelle Morris as Secretary of State for Education and Skills
Preceded by Jack Straw	Home Secretary 2001–2004	Succeeded by Charles Clarke
Preceded by Alan Johnson	Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2005	Succeeded by John Hutton
Party political offices
Preceded by Anthony Clarke	Chair of the Labour Party 1993–1994	Succeeded by Doug Hoyle