James Purnell

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The Right Honourable  James Purnell  MP
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 24 January 2008 – 4 June 2009
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Peter Hain
Succeeded by	Yvette Cooper
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In office 28 June 2007 – 24 January 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Tessa Jowell
Succeeded by	Andrew Burnham
Member of Parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde
Incumbent
Assumed office  7 June 2001
Preceded by	Tom Pendry
Majority	8,348 (24%)
Born	2 March 1970 (1970-03-02) (age 39) London, England UK
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
Website	www.jamespurnell.org.uk

James Mark Dakin Purnell (born 2 March 1970, London) is a British politician and a former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. He has been the Labour MP for Stalybridge and Hyde since the 2001 general election. He resigned from the Government on 4 June 2009, criticising the leadership of Gordon Brown.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Member of Parliament 2.1 In government 2.2 Faked photograph 2.3 Interest on crisis loans proposal 2.4 Expenses scandal 2.5 Resignation from Cabinet 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Early life

Born in the City of London, he received most of his education in France before returning to study for his A Levels at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford and then taking a first in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Balliol College, Oxford.

As a student he worked in the summer holidays as a researcher to Tony Blair from 1989 to 1992. After graduating he worked as a research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research before moving to the BBC to become Head of Corporate Planning. In 1997 Purnell returned to work as a special advisor at Number 10 until 2001. He also served as a board member of the Young Vic theatre.

[edit] Member of Parliament

Purnell was selected for the seat of Stalybridge and Hyde in 2001, and won the seat in that year's general election with a majority of 8,859. As a Labour Member of Parliament, he was a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee in the House of Commons 2001-03, the Chair of the All Party Group on Private Equity and Venture Capital 2002-03, and the Chair of Labour Friends of Israel 2002-04.^[1]

[edit] In government

In 2003 Purnell became Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Ruth Kelly in the Cabinet Office, and in December 2004 he joined the Government as a Whip in the government reshuffle following the resignation of David Blunkett.

After Labour's General Election success in 2005, he was appointed to the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Creative Industries and Tourism in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport where he was in charge of putting through the legislation that liberalised England and Wales' alcohol licensing laws and modernized tax breaks for the film industry. In May 2006 he was promoted to be Minister of State for Pensions in the Department for Work and Pensions, replacing Stephen Timms.

In 2007 he was named Consumer Champion Of The Year by Which? magazine for his work on pensions. Which? cited his "commitment to consumers in the development of the national pensions saving scheme", particularly for listening to stakeholders and for his contributions to the personal accounts for low and middle earners.^[2]

In June 2007, he entered the Cabinet as the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; he was its youngest member. He was promoted to Work and Pensions Secretary after the resignation of Peter Hain on 24 January 2008.

[edit] Faked photograph

In September 2007, a photograph of James Purnell was faked and released by the press office at Tameside General Hospital as part of a press release for the Tameside Hospital Private Finance Initiative (PFI) rebuilding deal.^[3] The Tameside Trust claimed that Purnell agreed to the amalgamation of the two photographs,^[4] as he was late for the original photo call, but Purnell denied this. Another Labour MP, Tom Levitt, present for the photoshoot stated that he and other Labour MPs deliberately left a gap for Purnell when the original photograph was taken, knowing that Purnell's image would be superimposed onto their photograph.^[5]

[edit] Interest on crisis loans proposal

In December 2008, Purnell proposed charging interest on crisis loans to the unemployed and pensioners made by the Department of Work and Pensions, which are currently interest-free, at a rate of up to 26.8 per cent per annum. This was met with great hostility and was blocked by the intervention of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.^[6]

[edit] Expenses scandal

In 2009, Purnell was one of many MPs involved in a political scandal following the disclosure of expenses of Members of the United Kingdom Parliament. Purnell told the parliamentary authorities that his main home was in Manchester and claimed the "second home" allowance for his flat in London. In October 2004, Purnell sold his London flat but told HM Revenue and Customs it was his "principal home", not his "second home". A spokesman on behalf of Purnell said that "Any allegation that James avoided capital gains tax is completely untrue. When he bought his constituency home, the sale of his London flat fell through, but it was sold within the period that HMRC continue to treat it as not being liable for CGT ... This would have been true for any taxpayer – there was no special treatment".^[7] Also in 2004 Purnell claimed £395 for an accountant's bill which included "tax advice provided in October 2004 regarding sale of flat".^[7][8]

Whilst renting a flat between 2004 and 2006 Purnell claimed £100 a month for cleaning expenses and £586 for repairs. At the end of the lease the landlord kept the £2,520 deposit, claiming the flat to have been in a poor state. A spokesman for Purnell stated: "James felt frustrated that the landlord refused to return the deposit. He initially pursued the matter through legal channels but let it rest as the costs of fighting it further would far outweigh recouping the deposit".^[9] Allegation were made by a Sunday newspaper that Purnell claimed more than £1,500 pounds a month rent for the flat although he was half of the £1,820 a month rent and his fiancée was paying the rest. A spokesman for Purnell said "Despite being entitled to claim in full for the whole rental cost incurred by him and his partner, James claimed less than the amount he himself spent. The rules of the House of Commons make it clear that an MP is entitled to be reimbursed for the rent or mortgage paid by the MP and their partner. Nevertheless, James went out of his way to ensure overall he claimed less for accommodation than he himself paid".^[10] Purnell also claimed £247 for 3,000 fridge magnets.^[11]

[edit] Resignation from Cabinet

On 4 June 2009 Purnell announced his resignation from the Cabinet, calling upon Gordon Brown to resign as Prime Minister.^[12] His resignation came only days after the resignations of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith whose expenses had also caused controversy and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears who had also avoided paying capital gains tax on her property, and minutes after the end of the local and European elections.

His letter to the Prime Minister, which was also sent to a number of newspapers as well, read:^[13]

Dear Gordon,

We both love the Labour Party. I have worked for it for 20 years and you for far longer. We know we owe it everything and it owes us nothing. I owe it to our party to say what I believe no matter how hard that may be. I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more, not less likely.

That would be disastrous for our country. This moment calls for stronger regulation, an active state, better public services, an open democracy.

It calls for a government that measures itself by how it treats the poorest in society. Those are our values, not David Cameron's.

We therefore owe it to our country to give it a real choice. We need to show that we are prepared to fight to be a credible government and have the courage to offer an alternative future.

I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning. As such I am resigning from government. The party was here long before us, and we want it to be here long after we have gone. We must do the right thing by it.

I am not seeking the leadership, nor acting with anyone else. My actions are my own considered view, nothing more.

If the consensus is that you should continue, then I will support the government loyally from the backbenches. But I do believe that this question now needs to be put.

Thank you for giving me the privilege of serving.

Yours,

Rt Hon James Purnell MP^[13]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site
• The Guardian: Purnell's progress
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: James Purnell MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - James Purnell MP

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Tom Pendry	Member of Parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde 2001–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Tessa Jowell	Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 2007–2008	Succeeded by Andrew Burnham
Preceded by Peter Hain	Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2008–2009	Succeeded by Yvette Cooper

v • d • e Secretaries of State for Culture of the United Kingdom Secretaries of State for National Heritage David Mellor · Peter Brooke · Stephen Dorrell · Virginia Bottomley Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport Chris Smith · Tessa Jowell · James Purnell · Andy Burnham · Ben Bradshaw

v • d • e Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions of the United Kingdom Ministers of Pensions Barnes · Hodge · Worthington-Evans · Macpherson · Tryon · Roberts · Tryon · Roberts · Tryon · Hudson · Ramsbotham · Womersley · Paling · Hynd · Buchanan · Marquand · Isaacs · Heathcoat-Amory Ministers of Social Insurance/National Insurance Jowitt · Hore-Belisha · Griffiths · Summerskill · Peake Ministers of Pensions and National Insurance Peake · Boyd-Carpenter · Macpherson · Wood · Herbison Ministers of Social Security Herbison · Hart Secretaries of State for Social Services Crossman · Joseph · Castle · Ennals · Jenkin · Fowler · Moore Secretaries of State for Social Security Moore · Newton · Lilley · Harman · Darling Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions Darling · Smith · Johnson · Blunkett · Hutton · Hain · Purnell · Cooper

Persondata
NAME	Purnell, James Mark Dakin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	British politician and Cabinet minister
DATE OF BIRTH	2 March 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH	City of London, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH