Dawn Primarolo, Baroness Primarolo,DBE,PC (born 2 May 1954) is aBritish Labour Party politician who was theMember of Parliament forBristol South from1987 until2015, when she stood down.^[1] She wasMinister of Statefor Children, Young People and Families at theDepartment for Children, Schools and Families from June 2009 to May 2010 and aDeputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 2010 to 2015. She was appointedDame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the2014 Birthday Honours for political service.^[2][3] She was nominated for alife peerage in the2015 Dissolution Honours.^[4]

The Right Honourable The Baroness Primarolo DBEPC
Official portrait, 2018
Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Second Deputy Chair of Ways and Means
In office 9 June 2010 – 8 May 2015
Speaker	John Bercow
Preceded by	Michael Lord
Succeeded by	Natascha Engel
Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families
In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Beverley Hughes
Succeeded by	Sarah Teather
Minister of State for Public Health
In office 29 June 2007 – 5 June 2009
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Caroline Flint
Succeeded by	Gillian Merron
Paymaster General
In office 4 January 1999 – 28 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Geoffrey Robinson
Succeeded by	Tessa Jowell
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office 2 May 1997 – 4 January 1999
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Michael Jack
Succeeded by	Barbara Roche
Parliamentary offices Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal Incumbent Assumed office 8 December 2015 Life Peerage Member of Parliament forBristol South In office 11 June 1987 – 30 March 2015 Preceded by Michael Cocks Succeeded by Karin Smyth
Personal details
Born	(1954-05-02)2 May 1954 (age 70) London, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Ian Ducat
Alma mater	Bristol Polytechnic University of Bristol (did not graduate)

Born in London, Primarolo was raised inCrawley, West Sussex, where she attendedThomas Bennett comprehensive school.^[5] She then studied atBristol Polytechnic as abookkeeper andlegal secretary. Returning to London, in 1973 she joined the Labour Party whilst employed as a legal secretary in an east London Law Centre.^[6]

After marrying, she moved back to Bristol to raise her son.^[7] She then studied for a social science degree at Bristol Polytechnic, where she gained a BA (Hons). Whilst working, she then continued her studies at theUniversity of Bristol, where she registered for a PhD research into women and housing. She did not finish the PhD, but was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 2016.^[8]

Becoming involved in her local community, Primarolo belonged to various women's groups and was active in theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a founder member ofWindmill HillCity Farm, and aschool governor.^[9]

Active in her local Labour Party, in 1985 she was elected toAvon County Council,^[10] where she acted as vice chair of theEqual Opportunities Committee.

Primarolo was first elected toParliament at the1987 general election,^[11] after the constituency party de-selectedMichael Cocks, the sitting MP.^[12] She gained national attention in January 1989 by askingMargaret Thatcher atPrime Minister's Question Time if the only hope for low-paid women was "to followher example and find themselves a wealthy husband". She was reading out a question on behalf ofAnn Clwyd, who at the time had "lost her voice".^[13] Thatcher dismissed the question as 'cheap'.^[14] She served as opposition spokesperson for health from 1992 to 1994 and the Treasury from 1994 to 1997.

At the time she was first elected, Primarolo was considered to be on the hard left, but later became aNew Labour loyalist,^[15] leadingAndrew Roth ofThe Guardian to say she has "changed from 'Red Dawn' to 'Rosy Pink'";^[16] As part of this change, she shifted from support for theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), the rise of which originally led her into politics, to voting for the renewal of Britain'sTrident nuclear deterrent.^[17]

Despite campaigning against the firstGulf War in 1991, she voted in favour of theIraq War in 2003, and against any investigation into the invasion after it had taken place.^[15][18] On other 'key issues' (as described byTheyWorkForYou), she has voted in favour ofID cards and increaseduniversity tuition fees.^[18]

Primarolo served asFinancial Secretary to the Treasury from 1997 to 1999 and asPaymaster General from 1999 to 2007. As Paymaster General, Primarolo was responsible for the administration of theworking tax credit system, which was a system that contributed to raising millions of children out of poverty. However, the administration of this system received some criticism, including allegations that some families were left less well off as a result.^[19] In 2003, a Treasuryselect committee member accused her of "losing control of [her] department"^[20] after it became known thatInland Revenue buildings under Primarolo's purview had been sold to tax-haven companies.^[20] This came shortly after she had "insisted ... theChild tax credit scheme was a 'success'", despite Inland Revenue staff walking out in protest against the pressure under which they were placed.^[20][21] She was also responsible for introducing the controversialIR35 tax rules which were designed to tax "disguised employment" at a rate similar to employment. The measure was controversial as it was seen by some as unfair.^[22][23] Primarolo was also the longest serving Paymaster General in the office's 200-year history.^[24] Primarolo was named Chairman of the Code of Conduct Group upon its establishment byECOFIN in March 1998.^[25]

In 2005,PMTony Blair was forced to apologise after a report by theParliamentary Ombudsman that Primarolo had failed to giveParliament accurate information. Primarolo admitted at the same time that she had been fully aware "about the extent of the problems".^[26]

AsMinister of State for Public Health from 2007 to 2009, Primarolo was responsible for health improvement and health protection issues including such areas as tobacco, obesity, drugs and sexual health, as well as international business, pharmacy and research and development.^[27]

On 5 June 2009 Primarolo was moved, this time succeedingBeverley Hughes asMinister of State for Children, Young People and Families at theDepartment for Children, Schools and Families. This gave her the right to attend cabinet when her responsibilities were on the agenda.^[28]

Primarolo's abilities as a minister have been questioned, with former Prime Minister Tony Blair revealing in his autobiographyA Journey that he did not think she was "right for government" but had to give her a job because she was one ofGordon Brown's key allies;^[29] and political commentatorDanny Finkelstein arguing that she was "contender no. 1" for title of "Labour's worst Minister".^[30]Jonathan Powell, Blair's Chief of Staff, is reported as saying "We fired Dawn Primarolo about ten times. And each time Gordon (Brown) insisted we put her back."^[31]

Primarolo joined the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Children when Labour entered opposition in May 2010.^[32] In June 2010 she became aDeputy Speaker of the House of Commons. In November 2011 she announced her intention to stand down from Parliament at thenext general election.^[1]

Primarolo was created alife peer taking the titleBaroness Primarolo, ofWindmill Hill in theCity of Bristol on 26 October 2015.^[33]

In July 2022 Primarolo provided written evidence to theInfected Blood Inquiry.^[34] In September 2022 she provided spoken evidence.^[35]

Primarolo marriedUNISON regional secretary Ian Ducat inBristol in 1990.^[36]

• Bristol South Labour Party
• Profile atParliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament atHansard
• Contributions in Parliament atHansard 1803–2005
• Voting record atPublic Whip
• Record in Parliament atTheyWorkForYou
• The Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MPArchived 30 April 2009 at theUK Government Web Archive Department of Health (archived)