Ben Bradshaw

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Ben Bradshaw MP
Ben Bradshaw
Incumbent
Assumed office 
28 June 2007
Preceded by Rosie Winterton
Member of Parliament
for Exeter
Incumbent
Assumed office 
1 May 1997
Preceded by John Hannam
Majority 7,665 (13.9%)
Born 30 August 1960 (1960-08-30)
London
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Alma mater University of Sussex

Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (born 30 August 1960 in London) is a British politician and the Labour Member of Parliament for Exeter

The Minister of State in the Department of Health and Minister for the South West was one of the first openly gay MPs.

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[edit] Biography

The son of a Church of England vicar at Norwich Cathedral, Bradshaw was educated at the Thorpe St Andrew School (Norwich) and the University of Sussex where he was awarded a degree in German. He also attended the University of Freiburg (Germany). In 1982/83 he taught English at the Technikum, a school of technology in Winterthur (Switzerland). He became a reporter with the Exeter Express and Echo in 1984 and was appointed as a reporter with the Eastern Daily Press in Norwich in 1985. In 1986 he joined the BBC as reporter with BBC Radio Devon. In 1989 he became the award winning Berlin correspondent with BBC Radio and was serving in the city at the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall. He became a reporter in 1991 with BBC Radio's The World At One programme, where he stayed until his election to Westminster. He won the Sony News Reporter Award in 1993.

Bradshaw was selected to contest the marginal parliamentary seat of Exeter at the 1997 General Election after the first choice candidate, John Lloyd, was deselected by the local Labour party on instructions from Labour HQ. The sitting Conservative MP, John Hannam had retired and the Conservatives chose Adrian Rogers to be their candidate. This created a very interesting election campaign, Bradshaw an openly gay man, and Rogers a Christian and leading member of the religious right. The campaign was vitriolic and bitter with allegations of homophobia and sin. The result, however was not close, and Bradshaw was elected as the Labour MP for Exeter with a majority of 11,705. He made his maiden speech on 4 July 1997.

In Parliament Bradshaw introduced the Pesticides Act in 1998 [1], which gave more powers to inspectors. He became a Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State at the Department of Health John Denham in 2000. After the 2001 General Election Bradshaw entered Tony Blair's government as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Only days after being appointed to the Foreign Office he had to answer questions following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. On March 6 2002, while answering Parliamentary Questions, Bradshaw accused George Galloway of "being not just an apologist but a mouthpiece for the Iraqi regime over many years". Galloway responded by accusing Bradshaw of being a liar, though after a suspension of the commons sitting, both men withdrew their comments.[1]

Bradshaw became the Deputy to the Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook in 2002, and was an Under Secretary of State at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2003 until 2006, when he was made a Minister of State at the same department. On 28 June 2007 he was moved to become a Minister of State in the Department of Health and was also given the responsibility of being Minister for the South West.

His support for the Iraq War proved unpopular amongst many in a seat with a high student population.

[edit] Personal life

When first elected in 1997, Ben Bradshaw was one of the first gay MPs to be out at the time he was initially elected, along with Stephen Twigg. He lives with his boyfriend, Neal Dalgleish, who is a BBC producer [2] On 24 June 2006, Bradshaw and his partner undertook a civil partnership ceremony, the second MP to do so [3] . He does not own a car; instead he frequently cycles. His brother is Jonathan Bradshaw, CBE, Professor of Social Policy at the University of York.

[edit] Reference

  1. ^ Ben Russell "PARLIAMENT & POLITICS; FOREIGN POLICY - Angry scenes as minister...", The Independent, 7 March 2002, as reproduced on the "Find Articles" website. Retrieved on 21 March 2008.

[edit] External links