David Blunkett
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The Right Honourable The Lord Blunkett PC |
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Lord Blunkett in 2015
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| Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |
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In office 6 May 2005 – 2 November 2005 |
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| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Alan Johnson |
| Succeeded by | John Hutton |
| Home Secretary | |
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In office 8 June 2001 – 15 December 2004 |
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| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Jack Straw |
| Succeeded by | Charles Clarke |
| Secretary of State for Education and Employment | |
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In office 2 May 1997 – 8 June 2001 |
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| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Gillian Shephard |
| Succeeded by | Estelle Morris (Education and Skills) |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment | |
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In office 20 October 1994 – 2 May 1997 |
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| Leader | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Ann Taylor |
| Succeeded by | Gillian Shephard |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Health | |
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In office 18 July 1992 – 20 October 1994 |
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| Leader |
John Smith Margaret Beckett (Acting) |
| Preceded by | Robin Cook |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Beckett |
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Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough Sheffield Brightside (1987–2010) |
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In office 11 June 1987 – 30 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Joan Maynard |
| Succeeded by | Harry Harpham |
| Leader of the Sheffield City Council | |
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In office 1980–1987 |
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| Deputy | Alan Billings |
| Preceded by | George Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Clive Betts |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
6 June 1947 Sheffield, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater |
Royal National College for the Blind University of Sheffield Huddersfield Holly Bank College of Education |
| Religion | Methodism |
David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, PC (born 6 June 1947) is best known as a British politician and more recently as an academic, having represented the Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituency for 28 years through to 7 May 2015 when he stepped down at the general election.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.
After the 2001 general election he was promoted to Home Secretary, a position he held until 2004, when he resigned following publicity about his personal life. After 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. The Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell (now Lord O'Donnell) exonerated him entirely from any wrongdoing in his letter of 25 November 2005.
On 20 June 2014, Blunkett announced to his constituency party that he would be standing down from the House of Commons at the next general election in May 2015. The editor of the right-wing Spectator magazine, Fraser Nelson, commented, "He was never under-briefed, and never showed any sign of his disability ... he was one of Labour's very best MPs – and one of the very few people in parliament whose life I would describe as inspirational." Responding to a question from Blunkett on 11 March 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron said "As a new backbencher, I will never forget coming to this place in 2001 and, in the light of the appalling terrorist attacks that had taken place across the world, seeing the strong leadership he gave on the importance of keeping our country safe. He is a remarkable politician, a remarkable man."
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