John Denham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Hazel Blears | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Eric Pickles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 28 June 2007 – 5 June 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Alan Johnson[a] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Peter Mandelson[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1953-07-15)15 July 1953 (age 72) Seaton, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Ruth Eleanor Dixon(Divorced) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Woodroffe School[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Southampton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Yorke DenhamFRSA[2] (born 15 July 1953) is an English politician who served asSecretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills from 2007 to 2009 andSecretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2009 to 2010. A member of theLabour Party, he wasMember of Parliament (MP) forSouthampton Itchen from 1992 to 2015.[1]
Denham served in government underPrime MinisterTony Blair from 1997 to 2003, as aParliamentary under-secretary of state from 1997 to 1998 and aMinister of State from 1998 to 2003. He resigned from government over theIraq War in 2003, and subsequently became Chair of theHome Affairs Select Committee. Denham returned to government in 2007 as a Member of Prime MinisterGordon Brown's Cabinet, which he served in until Labour's election defeat in 2010.
He was briefly ShadowSecretary of State for Communities and Local Government in 2010, and appointed byopposition leaderEd Miliband asShadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills later in the same year. Denham announced in 2011 that he would be standing down from Parliament at the next election, and held his final front bench position asParliamentary private secretary to Miliband from 2011 to 2013.
John Denham was born inSeaton, Devon, and attendedWoodroffe School inLyme Regis, Dorset, and theUniversity of Southampton, where he was awarded aBachelor of Science degree inChemistry, and served as president of thestudents' union in the academic year 1976–77.[1]
After leaving education in 1977 he became an advice worker at the Energy Advice Agency inDurham, before becoming a transport campaigner withFriends of the Earth in 1978. He was Head of Youth Affairs at theBritish Council from 1979 until 1983, and was responsible for public education and advocacy forWar on Want from 1984 to 1988. He subsequently worked forChristian Aid,Oxfam and other development agencies until his election toWestminster.
Prior to being elected as an MP, Denham served as a local councillor, initially as a member of theHampshire County Council in 1981, where he remained until 1989, when he was elected as a councillor onSouthampton City Council, on which he served until 1993 and was the chairman of the city's Housing Committee. He was selected to contest the Southampton Itchen seat at the1983 general election following the defection to theSocial Democratic Party of the sitting Labour MPBob Mitchell. The election proved to be a close-run affair, with Denham coming in third place, Mitchell in second, and the victor was theConservativeChristopher Chope who gained the seat with a majority of 5,290.
Denham again contested the seat at the1987 general election, he overtook Mitchell into second place but was still behind Chope, who held his seat with a majority of 6,716.
Denham took the seat at the third attempt at the1992 general election, when he defeated Chope by just 551 votes and remained an MP for 23 years (since 1997 Chope has been MP for the safe Conservative seat ofChristchurch,Dorset.). Mitchell did not fight the election this time. Denham made hismaiden speech on 20 May 1992, reminding people that thePilgrim Fathers left from Southampton, and notPlymouth as is widely thought, on their historic voyage to North America (Plymouth was a later port-of-call).[3]
Denham has held the following positions:
Denham became a member of the EnvironmentSelect committee in 1993, and was promoted to the oppositionfrontbench byTony Blair in 1995. He was a Shadow Minister forSocial Security from 1995 to 1997, responsible for pensions and long-term care.[4] Following the1997 general election he entered the Blair government as theParliamentary under-secretary of state at theDepartment of Social Security, being promoted within the department to the rank ofMinister of State in 1998. Following the promotion to the cabinet ofAlan Milburn, Denham moved to theDepartment of Health in 1999.
Following the2001 general election he became aMinister of State at theHome Office, until he resigned in March 2003 over theIraq War.[5]
After his resignation, Denham was appointed in July 2003 as chairman of the influentialHome Affairs Select Committee. Despite speculation following the2005 general election that he would return as a member of the Government, he did not do so, although in the post-election reshuffle there were reports that he was offered – and accepted – the cabinet post ofChief Secretary to the Treasury, before being told that the post had been assigned instead toDes Browne.
Though regarded as a Blairite, Denham was a regular critic of the Blair administration as chair of the Home Affairs committee.[citation needed]
Following Brown's installation as Prime Minister in June 2007, Denham was named to take over the new post of Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills.[6] In September 2007, he announced funding for students taking second degrees would be re-allocated to allow more students to take first degrees: adult and continuing education institutions such as theOpen University,Birkbeck, University of London, and lifelong learning departments throughout the country, have voiced angry protest at the proposals.[7][8][9]
During Denham's tenure as Secretary of State, he also announced an extension of maintenance grants to students from households earning up to £60,000 a year.[10] The changes mean that an additional 50,000 students would be entitled to a full grant and an additional 100,000 students would be entitled to a partial grant.
As part of the Cabinet reshuffle on 5 June 2009, Denham was appointed to the role of Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. He replacedHazel Blears who had resigned from the post on 3 June 2009.
On 7 October 2011, Denham announced that he would be standing down at the2015 general election.[11]
In June 2012, Denham said that Labour knew as early as 2005 that the immigration estimates they had relied on were "vastly wrong".[12]
He was seen as a government loyalist andUniversity of Southampton Students' Union had revoked his lifetime membership for his support of tuition fees.
Denham is Chair of the Southern Policy Centre,[13] which he co-founded with Professor Francis Davis,[14] as a think tank responding to challenges and opportunities for southern England with specialisms in open data research and new forms of public participation in politics.[15]
Denham is director of theEnglish Labour Network and a Professorial Fellow on English Identity and Politics atSouthampton University.
Denham was sworn in as a member of thePrivy Council of the United Kingdom in 2000, giving him the honorific title "The Right Honourable" for life. He is also aFellow of the Royal Society of Arts, giving him thePost Nominal Letters "FRSA".
He married Ruth Eleanor Dixon[1] and they have two children; they have now divorced. He has another child born in 2005.[citation needed]
In an interview with theDaily Telegraph, Denham stated that he was asecular humanist, although he also said he learnt a lot from hisChurch of England upbringing.[16]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSouthampton Itchen 1992–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byasSecretary of State for Education and Skills | Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 2007–2009 | Succeeded byasSecretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 2010–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Parliamentary private secretary to theLeader of the Opposition 2011–2013 | Succeeded by |
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