Sir Ben Bradshaw | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | |
| In office 11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010 | |
| Leader | Harriet Harman(Acting) Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Jeremy Hunt |
| Succeeded by | Ivan Lewis |
| Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | |
| In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Andy Burnham |
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Hunt |
| Minister of State for Health | |
| In office 28 June 2007 – 5 June 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Andy Burnham |
| Succeeded by | Mike O'Brien |
| Minister for the South West | |
| In office 28 June 2007 – 5 June 2009 | |
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Jim Knight |
| Minister of State for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare[1] | |
| In office 13 June 2003 – 28 June 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Elliot Morley |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Deputy Leader of the House of Commons | |
| In office 29 May 2002 – 13 June 2003 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Stephen Twigg |
| Succeeded by | Phil Woolas |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |
| In office 12 June 2001 – 29 May 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | The Baroness Scotland of Asthal |
| Succeeded by | Mike O'Brien |
| Member of Parliament forExeter | |
| In office 1 May 1997 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | John Hannam |
| Succeeded by | Steve Race |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (1960-08-30)30 August 1960 (age 65) London, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Neal Dalgleish |
| Alma mater | University of Sussex |
| Website | Official website parliament..ben-bradshaw |
Sir Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw (born 30 August 1960) is a British politician who served asSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2009 to 2010. A member of theLabour Party, he served asMember of Parliament (MP) forExeter from1997 to2024.[2] Before entering politics he worked as aBBC Radio reporter.[3]
Bradshaw is the son of anAnglican priest and former canon ofNorwich Cathedral, Peter Bradshaw, and his wife Daphne Murphy. Bradshaw was educated atThorpe Grammar School, followed by theUniversity of Sussex where he read for a degree inGerman. He also attended theUniversity of Freiburg in Germany while an undergraduate. Between 1982 and 1983, Bradshaw taughtEnglish at the Technikum, a school of technology inWinterthur in the Zurich canton of Switzerland.
Bradshaw became areporter with theExeterExpress & Echo in 1984 and subsequently joined theEastern Daily Press inNorwich as a reporter in 1985. In 1986 he joined the staff ofBBC Radio Devon and became theBerlincorrespondent forBBC Radio in 1989 and was working in the city when theBerlin Wall fell. In 1991, he became a reporter with BBC Radio'sThe World at One, contributing to the programme until his election toWestminster. He won theSonyNews Reporter Award in 1993.[4]
Bradshaw was selected to contest the marginalparliamentary seat of Exeter at the1997 general election after the first choice candidate wasdeselected by the local Labour party on instructions from Labour party headquarters.
The sittingConservative MP,John Hannam, had retired and the Conservatives chose Adrian Rogers to be their candidate. While Bradshaw is openlygay, Rogers is a leading member of thereligious right. During the campaign there were allegations ofhomophobia andsin.[5] The result, however, was not close, and Bradshaw was elected as the Labour MP for Exeter with a majority of 11,705. He made hismaiden speech in the House of Commons on 4 July 1997. He was the second British MP who was openlygay at the time of first election,[6] 21 minutes afterStephen Twigg.[7]
In the Commons, Bradshaw introduced thePesticides Act in 1998,[8] which gave more powers to inspectors. He became aParliamentary Private Secretary to theMinister of State at theDepartment of HealthJohn Denham in 2000.
Following the2001 general election Bradshaw enteredTony Blair's government as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at theForeign and Commonwealth Office. Only days after being appointed to the Foreign Office, he had to answer questions followingthe terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. On 6 March 2002, while answering Parliamentary Questions, Bradshaw accusedGeorge 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.[9]
Bradshaw became the Deputy to theLeader of the House of CommonsRobin Cook in 2002, and was an Under Secretary of State at theDepartment of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2003 until 2006, when he was made aMinister of State at the same department. During this period, he was sent to Brussels to negotiate changes to the Common Fisheries Policy on behalf of the British in-shore fishing fleet.[10][11]
In 2003, Bradshaw supported the government's stance onIraq andvoted for the2003 invasion of Iraq.[12]
In 2005, Bradshaw supported the detention of terror suspects without trial and voted for thePrevention of Terrorism Act 2005.[12]
On 28 June 2007, he was moved to become a Minister of State in theDepartment of Health and, in addition, was given the Minister for the South West portfolio.
Bradshaw was the subject of controversy while Minister for Health. His responses to questioning on Radio 4 about the shortfall inNHS dentistry leading to patients being unable to access NHS dentists and even resorting to treating themselves was to claim that those needing urgent treatment should go to see their GP, which prompted theBritish Medical Association to observe that ageneral practitioner was no substitute for a qualified dentist.[13]
Bradshaw also claimed that GPs were operating "gentlemen's agreements" to ensure patients didn't move between surgeries, claims dismissed as "absolute nonsense" by doctors' leaders.[14]
On the subject of theNational Programme for IT, a scheme dogged by cost overruns, delays, and doubts over its benefit to patients,[15][16] he commented: "Our use of computer technology in the NHS is becoming the envy of the world. It is saving lives, saving time and saving money. If you talk to health and IT experts anywhere in the world they point to Britain as example of computer technology being used successfully to improve health services to the public."[17]
He was also criticised for defending[18] car parking fees at NHS hospitals at a time when Wales was removing parking fees.[19] The BMA called such charges "a tax on the sick",[19] and questioned the legitimacy of trusts making up to £248,000 a month in parking fees.[20] Bradshaw's claims that such charges were necessary to pay for patient care were dismissed by a shadow health spokesman, who commented that it did "not add up" for the government to make such claims in the light of an NHS surplus of £1.8bn.[21]
His plan to introduce private management of some NHS trusts was also heavily criticised. The BMA called it a step towards privatising the NHS. Dr.Jonathan Fielden observed that there was no evidence private management was better than public sector management. ProfessorAllyson Pollock, head of the Centre for International Public Health Policy at theUniversity of Edinburgh, said: "Bringing private management in will simply accelerate the process of privatisation of services which will have catastrophic effects for the patients and the public at large. It will mean less care for everyone, and more money for profits and shareholders".Nigel Edwards, of theNHS Confederation, said the government had tried drafting in private sector management before, at theGood Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield in 2003, which was not successful. He commented: "What it revealed is that the reason that hospitals tend to fail is often much more complicated and much more difficult than just poor management".[22]
It was claimed in May 2009 that he exploited theMPs' expenses system by claiming the entire interest bill on a property he shares with his partner in west London.[23] Bradshaw has said claims made about his expenses were factually wrong.[24]
On 5 June 2009 he was appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.[25] He held this position until the2010 general election and served as Shadow Culture Secretary until the2010 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election.
On 7 October 2010 the Labour Party announced that he had failed to be elected to one of the 19 available places in the firstShadow cabinet of new leaderEd Miliband.[26] In 2011, Bradshaw voted for theNATO-led military intervention in Libya.[27][28] On 5 February 2013, he voted in favour in the House of Commons Second Reading vote on theMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.[29]
Following Labour's defeat in the2015 general election, and the resignation of both Miliband and deputy leaderHarriet Harman, Bradshaw announced his intention on 15 May to stand in theLabour Party deputy leadership election.[30] He later gained the minimum 35 nominations required to stand in the ballot with the other candidates.[31] Bradshaw came last in the election.[32]
Bradshaw is a former critic ofJeremy Corbyn, whom he accused in a September 2016 article of being a "destructive combination of incompetence, deceit and menace".[33] This comment was after Bradshaw was included on an internal Labour list of MPs, issued by mistake, who were implicated in "abusing" Corbyn and his supporters.[34] He supportedOwen Smith in the failed attempt to replaceJeremy Corbyn in the2016 Labour leadership election.[35] However, Bradshaw later changed his position on Jeremy Corbyn, praising his 2017 election performance.[36]
In November 2016, Bradshaw opposed a motion in Parliament for the UK to withdraw support for theSaudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen.[37]George Galloway accused Bradshaw of supportingSaudi Arabia's regime where men like Bradshaw "are beheaded."[37]
Bradshaw claimed during a Commons debate in December 2016 that it is "highly probable" that the result of the2016 Brexit referendum was manipulated byVladimir Putin. Bradshaw saw this as fitting a pattern of interfering in the business of other nations after the CIA accused Russian hackers of trying to influence US elections.[38] Bradshaw also maintains that the Russians sent him an e-mail with sophisticated malware and maintains this was a cyberattack. Bradshaw said, "The email came to my gmail account, which is more vulnerable than my parliamentary one. What the sender was claiming was potentially extremely useful and political dynamite. It was drafted in a clever way to make it tempting to open." Bradshaw added, "I was the first MP to raise Russia's role in the Brexit vote in 2016. Ever since I have been asking questions about the Kremlin's subversion of our democracy."[39]
On 3 February 2022, Bradshaw announced he would not be standing in the2024 general election.[40]
In 2009, Bradshaw won theStonewall Politician of the Year Award in 2009 for his work to support equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.[41] He was given a score of 100% in favour of lesbian, gay and bisexual equality by Stonewall.[42] He was sworn in as a member of thePrivy Council in 2009, giving him the right to the honorific prefix "The Right Honourable".
On 24 June 2006, Bradshaw and his partner Neal Dalgleish, who is aBBC producer,[43] registered acivil partnership. He was one of the first MPs to do so, and he was the first Cabinet Minister to be in a civil partnership.[44] Bradshaw has asked the Church of England to clarify whether a member of the Church of England clergy who married a same sex partner would be disciplined ordefrocked.[45]
Bradshaw's brother isJonathan Bradshaw,professor emeritus ofsocial policy at theUniversity of York.
Bradshaw wasknighted in the2023 Birthday Honours for political and public service.[46]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forExeter 1997–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Health 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Minister for the South West 2007–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 2009–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 2010 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
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