Tom Blenkinsop
Tom Blenkinsop | |
|---|---|
 Tom Blenkinsop MP at the Park End Medical Centre in Middlesbrough | |
| Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland | |
| In office 6 May 2010 – 3 May 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Ashok Kumar |
| Succeeded by | Simon Clarke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Francis Blenkinsop 14 August 1980 Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Victoria Emtage |
| Alma mater | Teesside University University of Warwick |
Thomas Francis Blenkinsop[1] (born 14 August 1980)[2] is a public affairs advisor and former Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.[3]
Early life
Born in Middlesbrough,[2] and brought up in Marton,[4] Blenkinsop attended St Augustine's RC Primary School in Coulby Newham and Newlands School FCJ, before attending St Mary's Sixth Form College in Saltersgill.[4] He attended Teesside University graduating with a BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and the University of Warwick, where he was awarded an MA in Continental philosophy.[2]
Political career
After graduating from university, Blenkinsop worked as a constituency researcher for the Labour MP Ashok Kumar from 2002 until 2008, when he became a campaign manager for the Community Trade Union until his election to Parliament.[4][5]
He stood as a candidate for the 2010 general election after the sudden death of Kumar, taking the seat with a 1,677 majority.[6]
In his first term he was a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee (2010-2012), the Standards and Privileges Committee (2010-2011) and the Treasury Select Committee (July–November 2011).[7] He also served as a Labour Party whip from 2011 until 2015 under the leadership of Ed Milliband.
In his second term he was a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (2016-2017), the Committee of Privileges (2015-2017), the Committee on Standards (2015-2017) and the Energy and Climate Change Committee (2015-2016).[7]
Blenkinsop supported Liz Kendall in the 2015 Labour Party leadership election and Owen Smith in the 2016 leadership election.[8][9]
In 2016, a Labour Party member was suspended and investigated by the police for allegedly threatening Blenkinsop, who had called for the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn to resign.[10]
In January 2017, Blenkinsop signed up to the Army Reserve, in the Royal Military Police reserves.[11] The following April, after the Prime Minister Theresa May announced her intention for a general election to be held on 8 June 2017, Blenkinsop announced he was to stand down because he could not campaign for Labour while Corbyn was party leader.[3]
Following standing down as a politician, Blenkinsop worked as a Project Manager in London at the Community Trade Union, before becoming a Public Affairs Advisor for the Federation of Small Business in February 2020.[12]
Personal life
He has been married to Victoria Emtage since 2007.[2]
References
- ^ "No. 59418". The London Gazette. 13 May 2010. p. 8743.
- ^ a b c d BLENKINSOP. "BLENKINSOP, Thomas Francis". Who's Who (Nov 2016 online ed.). A & C Black.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter|accessed=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|othernames=ignored (help) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) - ^ a b Mortimer, Caroline (18 April 2017). "Labour MPs announce they are standing down as Theresa May calls for a snap general election". The Independent. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
- ^ a b c "Labour Party select Ashok Kumar replacement". Evening Gazette. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ Hetherington, Graeme (5 April 2010). "Tom Blenkinsop, a campaign manager with steel union Community, chosen". Northern Echo. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Middlesbrough South & Cleveland East". Election 2010. BBC News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Tom Blenkinsop MP". House of Commons. UK Parliament. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ^ Blenkinsop, Tom (30 August 2015). "To stop Jeremy Corbyn, I am giving my second preference to Andy Burnham". New Statesman. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Tom Blenkinsop: Jeremy Corbyn is turning Labour into a 'kumbaya' singing party". Evening Gazette. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Corbyn critic MP Tom Blenkinsop in Twitter threat probe". BBC. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "From the benches to the ranks for Middlesbrough MP". ITV News. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "Tom Blenkinsop". Linkedin. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
