David Blunkett (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010. Blind since birth, and coming from a poor family in one of Sheffield's most deprived districts, he rose to become Education and Employment Secretary, Home Secretary and Work and Pensions Secretary in Tony Blair's Cabinet following Labour's victory in the 1997 general election.

He was promoted to become Home Secretary following the 2001 general election, a position he held until 2004, when he resigned following highly publicised matters related to his personal life. Following the 2005 general election, he was appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, though he resigned from that role later that year following a large amount of media coverage relating to external business interests in the period when he did not hold a cabinet post.

Blunkett was born on 6 June 1947 at Jessop Hospital, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, with improperly developed optic nerves due to a rare genetic disorder.^[1] He grew up in an underprivileged family and in 1959, he endured a family tragedy when his father was gravely injured in an industrial accident in which he fell into a vat of boiling water while at work as a foreman for the East Midlands Gas Board and died a month later. This left the surviving family in poverty, especially since the board refused to pay compensation for two years because his father worked past the retirement age, dying at age 67.^{[citation needed]}

Blunkett was educated at schools for the blind in Sheffield and Shrewsbury.^[2] He was never sent for assessment at the School for the Blind in Worcester, and instead attended the Royal National College for the Blind in Shrewsbury.^[3] He was apparently told at school that one of his few options in life was to become a lathe operator. Nevertheless, he won a place at the University of Sheffield, where he gained a BA honours degree in Political Theory and Institutions; one of his lecturers was Bernard Crick. He entered local politics on graduation, whilst gaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Huddersfield Holly Bank College of Education.^[4] He spent a total of six years going to evening classes and day-release classes to get the qualifications needed to go to university.^[5] He worked as a clerk typist between 1967 and 1969 and as a lecturer in industrial relations and politics between 1973 and 1981.

In 1970, at the age of 22, Blunkett became the youngest-ever councillor on Sheffield City Council and in Britain,^[4] being elected while a mature student. He served on Sheffield City Council from 1970 to 1988, becoming Leader from 1980 to 1987 and on South Yorkshire County Council from 1973 to 1977. This was a time of decline for Sheffield's steel industry. The Conservative MP for Sheffield Hallam, Sir Irvine Patnick, coined the phrase "People's Republic of South Yorkshire" to describe the left-wing politics of its local government; Sheffield was designated as a nuclear-free zone.^[6] Blunkett became known as the leader of one of the furthest left of the Labour councils.^[7] Blunkett was one of the faces of the protest over rate-capping in 1985 which saw several Labour councils refuse to set a budget in a protest against Government powers to restrain their spending. He built up support within the Labour Party during his time as the council's leader during the 1980s and was elected to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee.

At the 1987 general election he was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside with a large majority in a safe Labour seat. He became a party spokesman on local government, joined the shadow cabinet in 1992 as Shadow Health Secretary and became Shadow Education Secretary in 1994.^[8]

After Labour's landslide victory in the 1997 general election, he became Secretary of State for Education and Employment,^[8] thus becoming Britain's first blind cabinet minister (Henry Fawcett, husband of suffragist Millicent Fawcett, had been a member of the Privy Council, of which the Cabinet is the executive committee, more than a century before). The role of education secretary was a vital one in a government whose prime minister had in 1996 described his priority as "education, education, education" and which had made reductions in school class sizes a pledge.^{[citation needed]}

As Secretary of State, Blunkett pursued tough policies, ready to take on the teaching unions and determined to ensure basic standards of literacy and numeracy. He was rewarded with extra funding to cut class sizes, and subsequently since 1997 there has been a massive increase in literacy and numeracy, and there are 42,000 more teachers than in 1997 with doubled spending per pupil in frontline schools (and over 100,000 teaching assistants) through to 2010.^[9] A key pillar of Blunkett's work as Education Secretary was the introduction of Sure Start, a government programme which provides services for pre-school children and their families. It works to bring together early education, childcare, health and family support. In 2011 the government effectively started the abolition of Sure Start by lifting the ring fence on earmarked funding and cutting back drastically on the funds available.

Blunkett also led the massive expansion in higher education. He provided largescale investment in universities in the UK^[10] and one recent study has shown that universities are now educating more than one-quarter more students than they did ten years ago and receiving double the income they did.^[11]

Also in this position, Blunkett launched Learning & Skills Councils, created Job Centre Plus and had responsibility for the Equal Opportunities Commission, as well as establishing the Disability Rights Commission (as Home Secretary he was also responsible for the Commission on Racial Equality – all three of these bodies were incorporated later into the Equality and Human Rights Commission).^[12]

In 1999, Blunkett proposed that sex education should not be pursued until children have left primary school at 11,^[13] reportedly arguing that childhood, the "age of innocence", should not be compromised by "graphic" sex education.^[14] In 2000, while attempting to cool opposition to the proposed abolition of the Local Government Act 1988's Section 28, he issued guidelines on the importance of 'family values' in teaching children sex education.

Blunkett introduced the teaching of Citizenship in schools in 1999, arguing that "We want to ensure that there's a basis of traditional knowledge that's available to all children." ^[15] Citizenship education provides pupils with the knowledge, skills and understanding to become informed citizens, aware of their rights, duties and responsibilities. The Coalition Government have proposed to end Citizenship teaching.^{[citation needed]}

At the start of the Labour government's second term in 2001, Blunkett was promoted to Home Secretary,^[8] fulfilling an ambition of his. Observers saw him as future Prime Minister, and a rival to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's hopes to succeed Blair.^[16][17]

Blunkett was almost immediately faced with the 11 September terrorist attacks on the USA. He brought in new anti-terrorism measures, including detention without trial of suspect foreign nationals who couldn't be extradited or deported. It caused a backbench rebellion and provoked strong opposition in the House of Lords, and Blunkett made concessions over incitement to religious hatred (later carried through by his successor) and to introduce a "sunset clause".^[18][19]

As Home Secretary he was prepared to confront the judiciary and the police, with proposals for civilian community patrols and changes to police officers' pay and working conditions. More than 7,000 police demonstrated outside Parliament in 2002.

Also during his term in office the massive upsurge in asylum claims was reversed, the Sangatte refugee camp on French soil was closed, and refugees numbers subsequently dropped from 110,000 to less than 30,000. With an additional 15,000 police officers and 6,500 Community Support Officers by 2004, crime had reached an all-time low with over a 40% drop from ten years earlier.^[20]

A controversial area for Blunkett was civil liberties, which he famously described as "airy fairy".^[21] As Education Secretary, he had repeatedly expressed the intention that, were he to become Home Secretary, he would make the then-incumbent Jack Straw, who had been criticised for being hard-line, seem overly liberal. An indication of what he meant came in October 2002, when there was a serious riot at Lincoln Prison. Martin Narey, then Director General of HM Prison Service, later claimed that when informed of the riot, Blunkett became hysterical and 'shrieked' that the prison must be re-taken without regard to loss of life and that rioters should be machine-gunned if necessary. Narey concluded that Blunkett was not up to the job. Blunkett denied this version of events.^[22][23]

Blunkett radically overhauled 'Victorian' sex offences legislation in 2002, which modernised the sex offences laws dramatically in relation to same-sex and related issues by sweeping away the archaic laws governing homosexuality, while tightening protections against rapists, paedophiles and other sex offenders.^[24] The act closed a loophole that had allowed those accused of child rape to escape punishment by arguing the act was consensual and a new offence of adult sexual activity with a child, which covers any sex act that takes place between an adult and a child under 16, was introduced. It was supported by all major political parties in the UK.^[25]

Following the 2005 general election Blunkett was returned to the cabinet as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, where he faced a growing pensions crisis.

Two weeks before the 2005 general election he took up a directorship in a company called DNA Bioscience and bought £15,000 of shares in the company. After sustained sniping by opponents over a 6-month period, Mr Blunkett was asked on 31 October 2005 to explain why he had not consulted the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments regarding the directorship. Having placed the shares into an independent trust,^[26] "Mr Blunkett said he had asked his three grown-up sons from his first marriage to authorise trustees to "dispose of" the shares. They agreed to the request."

Blunkett's political opponents claimed that a conflict of interest was created by him having been director of and holding shares in a company proposing to bid for government contracts to provide paternity tests to the Child Support Agency (CSA) – part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), of which he was Secretary of State.

Blunkett declared that he would not be resigning, saying to a newspaper, "I have done nothing wrong." A statement by Downing Street said that the Prime Minister did not believe that Blunkett's mistake should prevent him from carrying out his job. Blunkett had taken two other paid jobs, one with the international Jewish training and education charity World ORT,^[27] and the other with Indepen Consulting, again without seeking advice from the Advisory Committee.

On 2 November, Lord Nolan, a former Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and architect of the code of conduct, was reported as having said in an interview with the Yorkshire Post, "I think he's more or less admitted that he should have followed the rules. But I think it's the fault of the Government that he has been allowed to see if he can get away with it."^[28]

On the same day, a scheduled appearance before a House of Commons Select Committee was cancelled at the last minute and Blunkett was summoned to a meeting at Number 10. Later that morning, a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed Blunkett had resigned at the meeting, stating that his position had become untenable.

Blunkett was later found to have not broken the ministerial code. On 25 November 2005, after he had resigned, Sir Gus O'Donnell wrote to Blunkett confirming that there was no conflict of interest, no failure to declare either Blunkett's shareholding or brief business connection with the company.^[29] O'Donnell wrote:

"The issue of shareholdings and trusts and the handling of private interests more generally is of course covered quite extensively in Section 5 of the Ministerial Code. There is no ban on a Minister, or his or her immediate family members, holding such interests but where they do the Minister must ensure that no conflict arises, or appears to arise, between his or her public duties and such private interests."

"In terms of the handling of your interests, and those of your family, you followed correct procedure in notifying your Permanent Secretary of your interests. Neither the DWP nor the CSA were in any contractual relationship with DNA Bioscience, and the CSA's contract for biometric testing was not due to be renewed for some years."^[29]

Sir Gus O’Donnell also confirmed that the Advisory Committee on Ministerial Appointments, which had been the bone of contention up to the beginning of November 2005, was in fact voluntary. The code was changed in 2007 to make clear that references prior to taking business appointments shortly after leaving government was to be mandatory as part of the ministerial code.

John Hutton was appointed as David Blunkett's successor that day. Blunkett's children's trustees decided not to sell the shares in DNA Bioscience after all. In December 2005 it was reported that the company faces insolvency, resulting in Blunkett's shares being worth very little.^[30]

Despite his resignation from the cabinet in November, Blunkett initially kept his ministerial accommodation in Belgravia, London, until he found new accommodation four months later.^[31] He also rents a cottage on the estate of Chatsworth House.^[32]

Blunkett continues to represent the constituency of Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough.

He is a Vice President of the RNIB and a vice president of the National Alzheimer’s Society, and has close links with a range of other charities (local to Sheffield and nationally) including those relating to substance abuse and breast cancer, and is a Patron of the recently launched Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (ENEI). He is also a long-standing Patron of The Micro & Anophthalmic Children's Society – the UK's only charity supporting families of children born without eyes or with underdeveloped eyes.^[33] He is also a former Honorary Chair of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA-UK) Advisory Board and the current Chairman of the not-for-profit International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA).^[34]

One of his main interests is volunteering and community service. In 2011 he published a pamphlet calling for a National Volunteer Programme,^[35] which received a wide range of support, particularly among third sector organisations. Since then, Blunkett has commenced putting together and becoming a founder of the Future For Youth Foundation, which aims to realise the proposal outlined in his pamphlet. Blunkett also sits on the board of the National Citizen's Service Trust, and is a trustee of Youth United Foundation, a charity which aims to expand the number of uniformed volunteering opportunities for young people. He is currently chairing a parliamentary inquiry with the Charities Aid Foundation into charitable giving, which aims to report in late 2013 with recommendations on how giving to charities could be boosted.

He was a key voice in the 'No to AV' campaign in 2010-11^[36] and has spoken out against the Government's proposed boundary changes.^[37]

In September 2012 he published In Defence of Politics Revisited, where he set out a range of proposals to increase faith in, and improve the working of, democratic politics. Most recently he was awarded status as an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. In July 2013, Sheffield University announced Blunkett had become a Visiting Professor in the Department of Politics, in the world's first Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics.

In June 2013, Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg MP announced that Blunkett was leading a review into local oversight of schools - including free schools and academies – and giving communities a bigger say in creating new schools.

Blunkett divorced his wife, by whom he had three sons, in 1990. In 2004 the News of the World revealed a three-year affair with publisher Kimberly Quinn and the disputed parentage of their two-year-old child. After prolonged press speculation DNA tests showed that Blunkett was the father and the subsequent rulings of the Family Court gave him Contact and Responsibility.^[38]

In 2005 there was more speculation about Blunkett's private life, this time regarding a young woman he met at an exclusive London nightclub, Annabel's. The matter was cleared up following a full apology from The People newspaper which printed the original story in which the paper accepted that the story was entirely false,^[39][40] and he resigned his membership at the nightclub.^[41]

On 27 January 2009, Blunkett announced that he was engaged to be married to Dr Margaret Williams, a doctor in the city of Sheffield.^[42] On 3 October 2009 they were married at Victoria Hall Methodist Church, Sheffield.^[43] On 6 June 2009, he was walking in Derbyshire and was injured by a "charging cow", suffering from a broken rib and "painful bruising".^[44]

He is a lifelong Sheffield Wednesday supporter. His interests include poetry, walking and music, and he has written about wine and travel.

Blunkett's guide dogs – Ruby, Teddy, Offa, Lucy, Sadie and most recently Cosby^{[45][46][47][48]} have become familiar characters in the House of Commons, usually sleeping at his feet on the floor of the chamber, inspiring occasional witty comments from Blunkett and his fellow MPs on both sides of the house. In one memorable incident, Lucy (a black Labrador curly coat retriever cross) vomited during a speech by Conservative member David Willetts.^[49] On occasions when Blunkett was guided by (ex-Prime Minister) Tony Blair the wry comment has been made: "who is guiding whom?" Another time, his (new) guide dog led him to the Conservative Party benches.^[50]

In October 2006, David Blunkett's audio diaries were published in his book The Blunkett Tapes: My Life in the Bear Pit. The tapes detail his time as a cabinet minister until the present date, and provide insights into the workings of the Labour cabinet. They were recorded every week, and contain his view of what was happening in Cabinet at the time, alongside contemporary reflections and more recent thoughts on the events.

Blunkett has also co-authored a number of publications including Building from the Bottom (1982), published by the Fabian Societey, and Democracy in Crisis (1987), published by Hogarth, which described the battle between local and central government in the Thatcher years. He has also contributed chapters to many books relating to politics and social policy.

Outside politics David Blunkett enjoys a career as a popular conference and after dinner speaker. His booking agency JLA state that his speech topics include "The Political Landscape, Overcoming Adversity, Social Responsibility and Diversity." ^[51] He has also been appointed as a visiting lecturer at London School of Business and Finance (LSBF).^[52] His first lecture, delivered at LSBF’s Marble Arch campus, focused on the key aspects of leadership, and the qualities needed to be an effective leader in both business and politics.^[53] David Blunkett is available for hire for events as guest lecturer or speaker through a variety of different agents including The Edge, and Speakers Corner ^[54][55]

In February 2012, Blunkett renewed a contract with News International as an adviser on Social Responsibility at a salary of £49,500 pa. ^[56]

Since 2011, David Blunkett is a visiting lecturer at the London School of Business and Finance.^[57]

David Blunkett has been portrayed in various dramatic or musical forms. Blunkett was featured in Who's The Daddy?, a play by Toby Young and Lloyd Evans, The Spectator magazine's theatre critics, which ran at The King's Head Theatre in mid-2005. The satirist Alistair Beaton wrote the television film A Very Social Secretary, for Channel 4, which was screened in October 2005.

Comedian Linda Smith once described Blunkett as "Satan's bearded folk singer".^[58] He is the topic of the song Blindness by Manchester group The Fall.^[59] He appears regularly both on news and magazine programmes, including presenting editions of Radio 4’s 'In Touch', and he was the subject of one episode of The House I Grew up In.^[2][60]

Blunkett was frequently mentioned in comedy panel show Mock the Week

He is also mentioned in BBC comedy Gavin and Stacey when Nessa recounts her liaison with John Prescott.

Blunkett has made many radio and television appearances. He took part in a celebrity version of Mastermind, where his specialist subject was Harry Potter.^[61]

He was featured on the channel five documentary series 'Banged up' in 2008. The show followed 10 teenagers sent to a fake jail for 10 days to see if it could change their criminal ways. He was involved in various ways, one of which was being on the panel when the teenagers were up for parole. The programme described how rehabilitation rather than custody could be a real option for the future

Blunkett appeared as a celebrity chef, competing against Gordon Ramsay, on season 4 episode 4 of the British television series The F Word.

He was interviewed as part of Armando Iannucci's examination of "Milton's Paradise Lost", which screened in May 2009. In it Blunkett speculates on how Milton's service in Oliver Cromwell's government might have affected his beliefs and jokingly quotes the media as saying "He [Blunkett] is no Milton."

• Blunkett, David; Jackson, Keith (1987). Democracy in Crisis: The Town Halls Respond. Hogarth Press. ISBN 978-0-7012-0777-9.
• Blunkett, David (2001). Politics and Progress: Renewing Democracy and a Civil Society. Demos. ISBN 978-1-84275-024-7.
• Blunkett, David; MacCormick, Alex (2002). On a Clear Day (Revised ed.). Michael O'Mara Books. ISBN 978-1-84317-007-5.
• Blunkett, David (16 October 2006). The Blunkett Tapes: My life in the bear pit. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-8823-8.
• Minogue, Kenneth. Civil Society and David Blunkett: Lawyers Vs. Politicians. Civitas. (2002). ISBN 978-1-903386-22-4
• Pollard, Stephen (14 December 2004). David Blunkett. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-82534-1.

• David Blunkett MP official constituency blog
• 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
• Template:Worldcat id
• David Blunkett collected news and commentary at The Guardian
• What is Labour for?, John Lancaster, London Review of Books, 31 March 2005, review of the biography David Blunkett by Stephen Pollard
• Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
• "Ministerial conduct and guidance"
• Disclosure of non-sale of shares

Resignation as Home Secretary

• BBC News In Depth – Blunkett Resignation
• Text of David Blunkett's resignation statement
• Budd Report (fast-tracking of visa)
• Mawer Report (inappropriate use of taxpayer-funded rail ticket)
• British Home Secretary quits amid scandal

Paternity battle

• "Blunkett 'did not father child'" – BBC News

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