Hilary Benn
The Baroness Amos | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Succeeded by | Douglas Alexander | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Leeds Central | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Assumed office 10 June 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Derek Fatchett | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Majority | 19,270 (39.1%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Hilary James Wedgwood Benn 26 November 1953 Hammersmith, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Children | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Relatives |
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Alma mater | University of Sussex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Website | hilarybennmp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn
Born in
Benn served as a
Following Labour's defeat at the
Early life and education
Born in
Benn attended
Early political career
After graduation, Benn became a research officer with
In 1980, he was seconded to the Labour Party to act as a joint secretary to the finance panel of the Labour Party Commission of Inquiry. In 1979, he was elected to Ealing Borough Council where he served as deputy leader from 1986 to 1990.
He was the Labour Party candidate for
Benn applied to become head of Labour Party research under the leadership of
Labour government (1999–2010)
In 1999, Benn was selected as the Labour candidate for a by-election in
Benn won the
He made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday 23 June 1999.
Early ministerial career (2001–2003)
Benn was re-elected at the
In January 2003, he had responsibility for introducing the Sexual 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 as
Secretary of State for International Development (2003–2007)
In 2003, Benn was promoted to the cabinet from his position as Minister of State to become
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 the 2003 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 the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake, to which he responded "with skill".[8]
In July 2004, Benn set out five stages to end the Darfur 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 the
At the 2005 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 £19,000,000 to the African Union security mission in Darfur, bringing the total UK contribution to £32,000,000.[30] Benn led the UK negotiating team at the 2006 Darfur peace negotiations.[29]
In 2007, the New 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]
Labour Party Deputy Leadership election, 2007
In late October 2006, Benn announced that he would be standing in the 2007 Labour Party deputy leadership election.[32] One of his earliest backers was Dennis Skinner, and it was also announced that Ian McCartney would play an important role in his campaign.[33] On 6 December, an open letter was published in The 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 the
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2007–2010)
In 2007, Benn was appointed as the
During the parliamentary expenses scandal, Benn was picked out by several national newspapers as one of only three senior members of the Labour Party to have 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]
In opposition (2010–present)
At the
Shadow Foreign Secretary
At the 2015 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 named Shadow Foreign Secretary in the Second Shadow Cabinet of Harriet Harman. On 17 June, Benn deputised for Harriet Harman at Prime Minister's Questions, when David Cameron was overseas in Europe, and Benn was Harman's unofficial deputy.[48] One of the questions he asked challenged George Osborne, who was deputising for Cameron, over whether HMS Bulwark was under active review as revealed in a report by The Guardian.[49] Writing for the New 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 supported
On 20 September, Benn signalled that Labour could back Prime Minister
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.
In January 2016, Benn criticised British involvement in
On 25 June 2016,
Benn then supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.[72]
Select committee chairman
In September 2016, Benn announced his intention to stand for chairman of the new
At the snap 2017 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 the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2019 as proposed on a cross-party basis by Labour's Yvette Cooper and the Conservatives' Oliver Letwin to force the Government to ask for an extension of the Article 50 process.[77][78][79]
He sponsored the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019, consequently also known as the Benn Act, which received Royal assent on 9 September 2019, obliging the Prime Minister to seek a third extension had no agreement been reached at the subsequent European Council meeting in October 2019.[80]
At the 2019 general election, Benn was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 61.7% and a decreased majority of 19,270.[81]
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Following a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet on 4 September 2023, Benn rejoined the frontbench and was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Benn's appointment was welcomed by Doug 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 the Labour Party leader places on Northern Ireland."[82]
Personal life
In 1973, whilst at university, Benn married fellow student Rosalind Caroline Retey. She died of cancer, aged 26, in 1979.[83] Benn subsequently married Sally Christina Clark in 1982,[84][85] and the couple have four children.[86]
Like
Awards
Benn was shortlisted for the
Benn has won the Channel 4 Political Awards Politicians' Politician 2006,[89] Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year 2016[90] and the Political Studies Association Parliamentarian of the Year 2019.[91]
Notes
- ^ Exiting the European Union (2016–2020)
- ^ This British person has the double-barrelled surname Wedgwood Benn, but is known by the surname Benn.
References
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External links
- Official website
- Hilary Benn MP official Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) profile
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Close family, distant politics, Nicholas Watt, The Observer, 3 June 2007 interview with Benn and his father
- Adapting to Climate Change Rt Hon Hilary Benn, Royal Institute of British Architects, Gleeds TV, video
- Appearances on C-SPAN