Hilary Benn

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The Rt Hon Hilary Benn
Secretary of State for International Development
In office October 2003 – present
Constituency	Leeds Central
Majority	11,866 (40.7%)
Born	26 November 1953
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Sally Christina Clark
Children	Michael, James, Jonathan and Caroline
Website	http://www.hilarybenn.org

Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (November 26, 1953) is a British politician, a current member of the British cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development and Labour Member of Parliament for the West Yorkshire constituency of Leeds Central. In October 2006 Benn announced he was running for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party and is the bookmaker's favourite [1], largely because of his grassroots support. He is well known for his practical, straightforward attitude to politics and has often been described as "moral" and "decent" [2].

Contents 1 Early life 2 Political Career 3 Ministerial Career 4 Deputy Leadership 5 Further notes 6 External links

[edit] Early life

Born in Hammersmith, London, Hilary Benn is a fourth generation MP as the second son of former Labour Cabinet Minister Tony Benn and the educationalist Caroline Benn. He attended Holland Park School and University of Sussex where he graduated in Russian and East European Studies. In 1973, whilst at university, he married fellow student Rosalind Retey, who died of cancer at age 26 in 1979; Benn subsequently married Sally Christina Clark in 1982. He has four children, Michael, James, Jonathan and Caroline. He and his family live in Chiswick, West London.

[edit] Political Career

On leaving university, Benn became a Research Officer with the ASTMS and rose to become Head of Policy for MSF. In 1979 he was elected to the Ealing Borough Council where he was Deputy Leader from 1986 to 1990. He was the Labour candidate for Ealing North in both the 1983 General Election and 1987 General Election. On both occasions he was defeated by the Conservative candidate Harry Greenway.

When Labour won power in 1997, Benn was appointed Special Adviser to David Blunkett as Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 1999 he was quickly selected as the Labour candidate for the Leeds Central by-election following the death of Derek Fatchett. Benn won the by-election on June 10, 1999 on a very small turnout, by just over 2,000 votes. He made his maiden speech on June 23, 1999.

[edit] Ministerial Career

Following the 2001 General Election, he joined the Labour Government as Clare Short's deputy in the role of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development (DFID). In May 2002, he moved to the Home Office, where he became Minister for Prisons and Probation, and in May 2003 he returned to DFID under its new Secretary of State, Baroness Valerie Amos with the more senior position of Minister of State. When Amos was appointed Leader of the House of Lords in October 2003, he replaced her as Secretary of State. He became a Member of the Privy Council in 2003.

[edit] Deputy Leadership

He is the bookmaker's favourite [3] for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party. Early polls in the Deputy Leadership contest showed him as the grassroots favourite - when YouGov[4] asked about who members would vote for as deputy leader - Hilary Benn was top on 27%, followed by Johnson 18%, Miliband 17%, Harman 10%, Blears 7%. He has a strong degree of support in the youth of the party.

[edit] Further notes

Benn strongly resembles his father in his speaking style and delivery, although he is viewed as more mainstream and less controversial in his political outlook. He famously describes himself as "a Benn, but not a Bennite".[5].

On November 2, 2005 he was identified as a likely successor to David Blunkett as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, but was not ultimately appointed. Some commentators have speculated he was offered the job but declined it. He is mentioned as a potential long-term successor to Gordon Brown, should the latter become Prime Minister and win the next General Election.

[edit] External links

• HilaryBenn.org official site
• DFID - Hilary Benn MP Department for International Development official biography
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Hilary Benn MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Hilary Benn MP

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Derek Fatchett	Member of Parliament for Leeds Central 1999 – present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by The Baroness Amos	Secretary of State for International Development 2003 – present	Incumbent