Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British politician who has served asSecretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2024. A member of theLabour Party, he has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forLeeds South, formerlyLeeds Central, since1999. He previously served in various ministerial positions under Prime MinistersTony Blair andGordon Brown from 2001 to 2010.
Born inHammersmith, London, he is the second son of veteran Labour MPTony Benn and educationalistCaroline Benn. He studied Russian andEastern European Studies at theUniversity of Sussex and went on to work as a policy researcher for two trade unions,ASTMS andMSF. Benn was elected as a councillor onEaling Borough Council in 1979 and wasDeputy Leader of the Council from 1986 to 1990. He was also the unsuccessful Labourparliamentary candidate for theEaling North constituency at both the1983 and1987 general elections. Following the1997 general election, Benn was appointed aspecial adviser to Education SecretaryDavid Blunkett before winning a by-election in Leeds Central in 1999.
UnderTony Blair, Benn served as aParliamentary Under-Secretary of State forInternational Development from 2001 to 2002 and forPrisons and Probation from 2002 to 2003. He returned to the Department for International Development as aMinister of State in May 2003. In October 2003, he was appointed to Blair's Cabinet asSecretary of State for International Development. In 2007, Benn was acandidate forDeputy Leader of the Labour Party, but lost toHarriet Harman, finishing in fourth place. Benn later served underGordon Brown asSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2007 to 2010.
Benn returned to opposition following the2010 general election and becameShadow Environment Secretary in theFirst Shadow Cabinet of Harriet Harman. UnderEd Miliband, Benn was the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from 2010 to 2011, and Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary from 2011 to 2015. After the2015 general election, Benn became the interimShadow Foreign Secretary underHarriet Harman before he was reappointed to the role underJeremy Corbyn. He was dismissed from the position in 2016 after he expressed no confidence in Corbyn's leadership. On the backbenches, he was Chair of theCommittee on the Future Relationship with the European Union from 2016 to 2021.[a] He returned to theShadow Cabinet asShadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland underKeir Starmer in the2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle. Following Labour's victory in the2024 general election, Benn was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in theStarmer ministry.
Hilary Benn was born on 26 November 1953 inHammersmith. He is the second son of former LabourCabinet MinisterTony Benn and American-born educationalistCaroline Benn (née DeCamp). Benn is a fourth-generation MP – his father, his paternal grandfatherLord Stansgate, and his great-grandfathersDaniel Holmes andSir John Benn were all Members of Parliament, mostly supporting theLiberal Party.[1]
Benn was educated atNorland Place School andWestminster Under School, bothprep schools in London, and then atHolland Park School, astate comprehensive secondary school.[2] He studied Russian andEastern European Studies at theUniversity of Sussex, graduating with aBachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1974.[3]
Benn has an older brother,Stephen, a younger sisterMelissa and younger brother, Joshua.[4] Reflecting on his upbringing, he said: "I grew up in a household where we talked about the state of the world over breakfast, when we ate at night, and all points in between".[5]
After graduation, Benn became a research officer withASTMS.[6] During the1975 referendum on British membership of the European Economic Community, he served on the research team for the National Referendum Campaign, which argued for a No vote.[7]
In 1980, he was seconded to theLabour Party to act as a joint secretary to the finance panel of the Labour Party Commission of Inquiry. In 1979, he was elected toEaling Borough Council where he served as deputy leader from 1986 to 1990.
He was the Labour Party candidate forEaling North at the1983 and1987 general elections. On both occasions he was defeated by theConservative candidateHarry Greenway. Reflecting on the defeat at the 1983 general election, Benn said: "That was a formative experience for me because we went out on the doorstep and we didn't win the public's confidence. It made me very uncomfortable. Personally, that left a mark on me."[8] At the1983 general election, Benn won 32.8% of the vote,[9] and four years later won 27.8% of the vote.[10]
Benn applied to become head of Labour Party research under the leadership ofJohn Smith, but was unsuccessful.[11] In 1993 he became Head of Policy forManufacturing Science and Finance.[6] At the1997 general election, he was on the shortlist for the seat ofPontefract and Castleford, but eventually lost toYvette Cooper.[12] Following the 1997 general election, Benn served as aspecial adviser toDavid Blunkett, then theSecretary of State for Education and Employment.[13]
In 1999, Benn was selected as the Labour candidate for a by-election inLeeds Central following the untimely death of Foreign Office MinisterDerek Fatchett at the age of 53 years old. During the by-election campaign, he described himself as "a Benn, but not a Bennite".[14][15]
Benn won theLeeds Central by-election on 10 June 1999 following a turnout of 19.6%, the second-smallest turnout at a by-election since theSecond World War; this was beaten in the2012 Manchester Central by-election which had a mere 18.2% turnout.[16][17] In response to the poor turnout, he said: "The turnout is very disappointing and in a democracy this is a concern for all of us."[18] Benn was elected with 48.2% of the vote and a majority of 2,293 votes.
He made hismaiden speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday 23 June 1999.
Benn was re-elected at the2001 general election with an increased vote share of 66.9% and an increased majority of 14,381. Following the election, Benn was appointed as aParliamentary Under-Secretary of State at theDepartment for International Development.[19] In the 2002 reshuffle, he become the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Probation at theHome Office, serving as a deputy toLord Falconer as Minister of State (Criminal Justice).[20] At the Home Office, he led a task force investigating internetpaedophilia, which subsequently recommended the introduction of the new offence of 'grooming'.[21]
In January 2003, he had responsibility for introducing theSexual Offences Bill in the House of Commons.[22]
In May 2003, he was moved from the Home Office back to the Department for International Development, where he served asMinister of State. He also acted as the Department's Commons spokesperson, as then-Secretary of State for International Development,Baroness Amos, was a member of theHouse of Lords.[17][23]
In 2003, Benn was promoted to the cabinet from his position as Minister of State to becomeSecretary of State for International Development, after Baroness Amos was appointed asLeader of the House of Lords. When he informed his family, his father Tony said that "the house rocked with delight".[11] Following his first Department for International Development (DfID) question time, Benn was criticised by Liberal Democrat international development spokespersonTom Brake over his comments about opening Iraq up to foreign investors.[24]
The Guardian noted that one of Benn's main challenges as Secretary of State for International Development would be the "fraught reconstruction of Iraq".[17] In February 2004, Benn said that restoring security in Iraq would be "absolutely fundamental" to a reconstruction effort.[25]
Benn oversaw the DfID response to the2003 Bam earthquake, which included "helping to coordinate efforts on the ground, liaise with other international relief organisations and work with the Iranian government to ensure that the right equipment gets to where it is needed as quickly as possible."[26] He subsequently oversaw the UK's response to the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the2005 Kashmir earthquake and the2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake, to which he responded "with skill".[8]
In July 2004, Benn set out five stages to end theDarfur War that had begun in February 2003. The stages were: "to get help to the people in the camps and elsewhere", "to get more people and more capacity on the ground to deliver this aid", "security – urgently", getting the "government of Sudan... to disarm the militias and provide security to the people" and "Finally, this crisis needs a political solution".[27]
Benn has also been a critic of theUnited Nations. In December 2004, he called for reform of theUN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNHCA), and also said that theUN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was "supposed to coordinate but does not have the power of resources to do the job properly".[28] Benn has been credited with helping to found theCentral Emergency Response Fund.[29]
At the2005 general election, Benn was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 60% and a decreased majority of 11,866.
On 13 June 2005, he committed an additional £19 million to the African Union security mission in Darfur, bringing the total UK contribution to £32 million.[30] Benn led the UK negotiating team at the 2006Darfur peace negotiations.[29]
In 2007, theNew Statesman noted that "Benn's work at DfID ... has often been at odds with the Bush administration". In particular, an example was Benn's opposition to the United States policy of increasing abstinence when it came to fighting AIDS in Africa, whereas Benn took a "harm reduction" approach. He was also dismissive of US policy, saying: "Abstinence-only programmes are fine if you want to abstain, but not everybody does."[31]
In late October 2006, Benn announced that he would be standing in the2007 Labour Party deputy leadership election.[32] One of his earliest backers wasDennis Skinner, and it was also announced thatIan McCartney would play an important role in his campaign.[33] On 6 December, an open letter was published inThe Guardian signed by six Labour parliamentarians that said Benn's election as Deputy Leader could rebuild a "coalition of trust" in the Labour Party.[34][35]
In 2007, Benn was the bookmakers' favourite for theDeputy Leadership of the Labour Party.[36] Early polls in thedeputy leadership contest showed him to be the grassroots' favourite – in a YouGov poll of party members, Benn was top with 27%, followed byEducation SecretaryAlan Johnson with 18%,Environment SecretaryDavid Miliband with 17%,Justice MinisterHarriet Harman with 10%, and Labour Party ChairHazel Blears with 7%.[37] The contest was launched on 14 May 2007 after the resignation ofincumbent deputy leaderJohn Prescott, Benn had some difficulties securing the necessary 45 nominations required to get on the ballot paper but he acquired the support needed to join five other candidates—Hazel Blears,Harriet Harman,Alan Johnson,Peter Hain and backbencherJon Cruddas.[38][39] Supporting nominations from constituency Labour parties showed Hilary Benn obtaining 25%,Jon Cruddas 22%,Harriet Harman 19%,Alan Johnson 14%,Hazel Blears 12% andPeter Hain 8% of the constituency parties that voted. The contest closed on Sunday 24 June 2007, withHarriet Harman winning. Benn was eliminated in the third round of voting, having reached 22.33% of the vote. Harman was elected in the fifth round with 50.43% of the vote.
In 2007, Benn was appointed as theSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, following the election ofGordon Brown as Party Leader, and the promotion ofDavid Miliband to Foreign Secretary.[40] As Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, he introduced and implemented the UK'sClimate Change Act 2008. It was also his responsibility as Secretary to respond to the threat to cattle fromMycobacterium bovis, colloquially referred to as bovine tuberculosis (TB). The recommended option from the Chief Scientific Advisor until 2007,Sir David King, was abadger cull.[41] In April 2010, a badger cull was announced in Wales, after the high court in Cardiff rejected a legal challenge from The Badger Trust.[42]
During theparliamentary expenses scandal, Benn was picked out by several national newspapers as one of only three senior members of the Labour Party to have not presented expenses beyond reproach.The Guardian stated: "When all Westminster MPs' total expenditures are ranked, Benn's bill is the fifteenth least expensive for the taxpayer".[43]
At the2010 general election, Benn was again re-elected with a decreased vote share of 49.3% and a decreased majority of 10,645.[44][45] Following the election, he served asShadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2010 duringHarriet Harman's interim leadership of the Labour Party. In theShadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband, announced on 8 October 2010, he was appointedShadow Leader of the House of Commons. When Miliband reshuffled his cabinet on 7 October 2011, he was namedShadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
At the2015 general election, Benn was again re-elected, increasing his share of the vote to 55% and increasing his majority to 16,967.[46][47] Following the election, Benn was namedShadow Foreign Secretary in theSecond Shadow Cabinet of Harriet Harman. On 17 June, Benn deputised forHarriet Harman atPrime Minister's Questions, whenDavid Cameron was overseas in Europe, and Benn wasHarman's unofficial deputy.[48] One of the questions he asked challengedGeorge Osborne, who was deputising for Cameron, over whetherHMSBulwark was under active review as revealed in a report byThe Guardian.[49] Writing for theNew Statesman,George Eaton commended Benn's performance, saying: "Benn smartly denied the Chancellor the chance to deploy his favourite attack lines by devoting his six questions to national security and the Mediterranean refugee crisis, rather than the economy."[50]
In September 2015, both leadership and deputy leadership elections took place in the Labour Party. Benn supportedCaroline Flint in the deputy leadership election,[51] andAndy Burnham in the leadership election.[52] Following the election ofJeremy Corbyn asLeader of the Labour Party in September, Benn retained the role of Shadow Foreign Secretary inCorbyn's shadow cabinet, and stressed that Labour would campaign to remain in the EU "under all circumstances".[53] This was later affirmed by a joint statement released by both Benn and Corbyn, which said that "Labour will be campaigning in the referendum for the UK to stay in the European Union."[54]
On 20 September, Benn signalled that Labour could back Prime MinisterDavid Cameron's plans for airstrikes against theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria: "What we've said consistently is that the government, if it has got a proposal, should bring that to the House of Commons. In relation to airstrikes, we shall look at the objectives. At the moment we don't know what the proposal is ... We will judge that against the objective, the legal base..."[55] In November 2015, following theParis attacks that had occurred a few days earlier, Benn initially agreed with Corbyn's position rejecting the proposal for Britain to launch airstrikes against ISIL in Syria and any intervention.[56] However, Benn subsequently supported plans laid out by the Prime Minister, and said he would not resign over his disagreement with Corbyn because he was "doing [his] job as the Shadow Foreign Secretary".[57][58] Benn had voted in favour of theIraq War in 2003 and the2011 military intervention in Libya,[59] but voted against military intervention against Syrian PresidentBashar al-Assad in 2013.[60]
On 2 December 2015, Benn made the closing speech for the official opposition in the House of Commons debate on airstrikes against ISIL in Syria. The speech opposed the position espoused by Corbyn against the government's motion.[61] The speech was applauded by MPs on both sides of the house,[62] a gesture not usually permitted in the Commons.[63] Along with a minority of shadow cabinet colleagues, he voted for airstrikes in Syria and the motion passed by a higher-than-expected majority of 174 votes.[64] The ConservativeForeign SecretaryPhilip Hammond described Benn's oration as "one of the truly great speeches in Commons history".[65] Speaking to the BBC the following day,Shadow ChancellorJohn McDonnell compared Benn's speech to that given by Prime MinisterTony Blair in 2003 ahead of the Iraq War. McDonnell described it as an "excellent" piece of oratory, but added: "The greatest oratory can lead us to the greatest mistakes."[66] According to Labour MPJamie Reed, following his speech, in the eyes of Corbyn, Benn became "at best a rebel, at worst a traitor."[67]
In January 2016, Benn criticised British involvement inSaudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen after a leaked UN report concluded there had been "widespread and systematic" attacks on civilian targets in violation of international humanitarian law.[68]
On 25 June 2016,The Observer revealed that Benn "called fellow MPs over the weekend to suggest that he will ask Corbyn to stand down if there is significant support for a move against the leader. He has also asked shadow cabinet colleagues to join him in resigning if the Labour leader ignores that request."[69] During a phone call in the early hours of 26 June, Benn told Corbyn that Labour MPs and shadow cabinet members had "no confidence in our ability to win the election" under his leadership. Corbyn then dismissed Benn from his position as Shadow Foreign Secretary. In a statement issued at 03:30, Benn said: "It has now become clear that there is widespread concern among Labour MPs and in the shadow cabinet about Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of our party. In particular, there is no confidence in our ability to win the next election, which may come much sooner than expected, if Jeremy continues as leader."[70] Later in the morning,Heidi Alexander, theShadow Secretary of State for Health, also resigned. Throughout the day, a further eight members of the shadow cabinet resigned.[71]
Benn then supportedOwen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Corbyn in the2016 Labour Party leadership election.[72]
In September 2016, Benn announced his intention to stand for chairman of the newExiting the European Union Select Committee, a House of Commons select committee. He stated that his intention was to "get the best deal for the British people". His bid was supported by former Labour leaderEd Miliband, as well as other senior Labour Party figures includingAngela Eagle,Dan Jarvis, andAndy Burnham. His opponent in the bid wasKate Hoey, a fellow Labour MP and a Leave vote supporter. The result, announced on 19 October, was 330 votes to Benn, and 209 to Hoey, so Benn became the new chairman.[73][74][75]
At the snap2017 general election, Benn was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 70.2% and an increased majority of 23,698.[76]
In this position, he supported theEuropean Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019 as proposed on a cross-party basis by Labour'sYvette Cooper and the Conservatives'Oliver Letwin to force the Government to ask for an extension of theArticle 50 process.[77][78][79]
He sponsored theEuropean Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019, consequently also known as the Benn Act, which receivedRoyal assent on 9 September 2019, obliging the Prime Minister to seek athird extension had no agreement been reached at the subsequentEuropean Council meeting in October 2019.[80]
At the2019 general election, Benn was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 61.7% and a decreased majority of 19,270.[81]
Following a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet on 4 September 2023, Benn rejoined the frontbench and was appointedShadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Benn's appointment was welcomed byDoug Beattie,leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, who remarked that "the appointment of an individual with such an extensive political career is an indication of the importance theLabour Party leader places onNorthern Ireland".[82]
Due to the2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Benn's constituency of Leeds Central was abolished, and replaced withLeeds South. In June 2024, Benn was selected as the Labour candidate for Leeds South at the2024 general election.[83]
At the2024 general election, Benn was elected to Parliament as MP forLeeds South with 54% of the vote and a majority of 11,279.[84][85]
Following theLabour Party's landslide victory in the general election,[86][87] Benn was appointedSecretary of State for Northern Ireland byPrime MinisterKeir Starmer in formation of the new cabinet.[88][89] He is one of two cabinet ministers (the other beingDouglas Alexander) to serve under three Labour premiers.
In a joint letter withSecretary of State for Culture, Media and SportLisa Nandy, Benn confirmed toStormont'sMinister for CommunitiesGordon Lyons on 13 September 2024 that the government will not be providing funding for the redevelopment ofCasement Park in time for theEuro 2028 football tournament.[90] He later declined to state how much money the government might be willing to contribute towards the redevelopment.[91]
Prior to Benn's speech at theLabour Party Conference on 23 September 2024, he announced in an interview that the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) investigatingTroubles killings will not be scrapped. He also defended the government's decision to cutwinter fuel payments for almost 250,000 pensioners inNorthern Ireland, stating that "being in government is about making difficult choices" given the state of public finances.[92]
In November 2024, Benn voted in favour of theTerminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes to legaliseassisted suicide.[93]
In 1973, while at university, Benn married fellow student Rosalind Caroline Retey. She died of cancer, aged 26, in 1979.[94] Benn subsequently married Sally Christina Clark in 1982,[95][96] and the couple have four children.[97]
Likehis father, who died in March 2014, he is ateetotaller and vegetarian.[98]
Benn was shortlisted for theGrassroot Diplomat Initiative Award in 2015 for his work on increasing aid atDfID, and remains in the directory of theGrassroot Diplomat Who's Who publication.[99]
Benn has won the Channel 4 Political Awards Politicians' Politician 2006,[100] Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year 2016[101] and the Political Studies Association Parliamentarian of the Year 2019.[102]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forLeeds Central 1999–2024 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forLeeds South 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for International Development 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2007–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2011–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byasShadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | Shadow First Secretary of State Acting 2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Foreign Secretary 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2024– | Incumbent |
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| Cabinet members | Gordon Brown
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* Served as Minister for (Overseas) Development as aminister of state at theForeign Office | ||
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