Paul Blomfield | |
---|---|
Shadow Minister for Brexit and European Union Negotiations | |
In office 10 April 2020 –1 January 2021 | |
Leader | Keir Starmer |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union | |
In office 9 October 2016 –10 April 2020 | |
Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central | |
Assumed office 6 May 2010 | |
Preceded by | Richard Caborn |
Majority | 27,273 (53.6%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Paul Christopher Blomfield 25 August 1953 Chatham,Kent,England |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse | Linda McAvan |
Alma mater | St John's College,York |
Website | Official website |
Paul Christopher Blomfield (born 25 August 1953) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Central since 2010. A member of the Labour Party,he was a Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union from 2016 to 2020 and Shadow Minister for Brexit and European Union Negotiations from 2020 to 2021. [1]
Twice President of the Students' Union at St John's College,York,Blomfield was also a member of the National Executive Committees of both the National Union of Students and the Anti-Apartheid Movement,the latter from 1979 to 1994. From 1997 to 2008,he was chairman of Sheffield City Trust;he was also the general manager of the University of Sheffield Students' Union.
Paul Christopher Blomfield was born in Chatham,Kent. [2] He was educated at the Abbeydale Boys' Grammar School in Sheffield and Tadcaster Grammar School. He received a certificate in education from York St John University.
Anti-Apartheid Movement
He became involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement while still at school and continued to organise Anti-Apartheid activity as a student politician. In 1976 he travelled to South Africa to meet local campaigners and learn about the apartheid system first hand. During this visit he was subject to surveillance by the South African Police and eventually decided to leave the country due to the risk this posed to the local anti-apartheid campaigners. He then went on to serve on the National Executive Committee of the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1979 to 1994 when free elections were held in South Africa. [3]
University of Sheffield Union of Students
As general manager of the University of Sheffield Union of Students,he was responsible for establishing and maintaining its position as one of the leading Students' Unions in the UK;it won a number of awards over recent years,including "Best Students' Union in the UK". [4] He stepped down as general manager just before contesting the 2010 general election.
Sheffield City Trust
Blomfield was a trustee of Sheffield City Trust from 1994 to 1997,and its chairman from 1997 to 2008. In this role he was responsible for the development of Sheffield International Venues,Sheffield City Hall and the Sheffield Festival. During his tenure,he oversaw the organisation's expansion into venues such as Sheffield City Hall and the English Institute of Sport. [5]
Blomfield was the Chair of Sheffield District Labour Party from 1993 to 2009. He resigned the position to fight the Sheffield Central at the 2010 general election,after long-serving MP Richard Caborn announced he would be standing down.
At the 2010 general election,Paul Blomfield was elected as the MP for Sheffield Central. [6] He retained his seat at the 2015 general election with a majority of 17,309 (his 2010 majority having been only 165). [7] Blomfield was re-elected as the MP for Sheffield Central in the 2019 general election with a majority of 27,273 [8] He announced in February 2022 that he would not stand at the next general election. [9]
Blomfield was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons,Hilary Benn,on 9 October 2010. He retained the role when Benn changed positions to become Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary in January 2011 and Shadow Foreign Secretary in June 2015. Blomfield resigned as a PPS shortly after Benn was sacked from the shadow cabinet in June 2016.
He was appointed Shadow Minister for Exiting the European Union in October 2016. Following Keir Starmer's election as Labour Leader in April 2020,he retained his previous portfolio as Shadow Minister for Brexit and European Union Negotiations. [10] The new position was in the shadow Cabinet Office and International Trade teams,and he departed the frontbench when the Brexit transition period ended in December 2020. [11]
Blomfield was elected to sit on the Business,Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee between 2010 and 2016,and later became Secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Higher Education. [12] He is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Students,which he founded,Co-Chair of the APPG for International Students,which he founded with Lord Bilimoria,and Secretary of the APPG for Universities. He served on the Higher Education and Research Bill Committee and was voted The Guardian ’s ‘most inspiring leader in higher education’in 2015.
He is Secretary of the APPG on Debt and Personal Finance. He introduced a High Cost Credit Bill into the House of Commons in July 2013 and co-ordinated a cross-party campaign,around a Charter to Stop the Payday Loan Rip-Off. Citizens Advice gave their Parliamentarian of the Year 2014 award jointly to Paul Blomfield and Conservative MP Robin Walker for their work on the issue.
As Chair of the APPG on Migration,he was Vice Chair of a cross-party Parliamentary inquiry into immigration detention led by the Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather. Their recommendations,including a call for a 28-day time limit on immigration detention,were approved by the House of Commons,but not accepted by the Government.
Paul Blomfield is a Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Choice at the End of Life. [13]
Blomfield has been a long-standing opponent of tuition fees but has been a supporter of a graduate tax. [14] [15] He is a supporter of proportional representation,and is the Chair of the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform. Blomfield became the Chair of Labour for Democracy,or Labour4Democracy,on 4 December 2012. The internal party group was launched to promote plurality in the Labour Party,and increase co-operation with other political parties in building a "progressive consensus". [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
Labour Leadership Elections
Blomfield supported Ed Miliband in the 2010 Labour leadership election.
He supported Owen Smith in the failed attempt to replace Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election. [21]
He nominated Keir Starmer in the Labour leadership election. [22]
Assisted dying
His father,Harry,killed himself in 2014 at the age of 87 after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Since then he has been an outspoken advocate for a change in the law. He says the current rules on assisted dying robbed them of time together. Under the present law family and friends who help people to kill themselves - or even are aware of their plans - can be prosecuted. [23]
Blomfield is married to Linda McAvan,a former Labour Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber.
Blomfield underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumour,a meningioma,in August 2011,going on to make a full recovery. This tumour could have been developing for 20 years. It was diagnosed when it began pressing against his optic nerve and interfering with his sight. He was diagnosed at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital within a week of noticing symptoms. The operation,by Mr Thomas Carroll lasted 13 hours and he was back at work after 4 weeks. [24] He and Conservative MP Guy Opperman,who also had a brain tumour in 2011,walked the first section of the Pennine Way in 2012 to raise money for Headway UK. [25]
Andrew Francis Slaughter is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hammersmith,previously Ealing,Acton and Shepherd's Bush,since 2005. Prior to his election to Parliament,he had served as Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Andrew John Gwynne is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Denton and Reddish since 2005. A member of the Labour Party,he has been Shadow Minister for Social Care since 2023. He is the son of the late broadcaster and pundit John Gwynne.
Patrick Bosco McFadden is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since 2005. He has been Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Labour National Campaign Coordinator since September 2023. He served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2021 and 2023.
Jeff Smith is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Withington since 2015,and the Shadow Minister for Clean Power and Consumers since September 2023. A former Manchester City Councillor,he served as a senior opposition whip in Parliament from 2015 to 2021,and Shadow Minister for Local Government from May to 4 December 2021.
Michael Lee Amesbury is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weaver Vale since 2017. A member of the Labour Party,he has served as Shadow Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness since 2023. He previously served as Shadow Minister for Employment from 2018 to 2020,Shadow Minister for Housing from 2020 to 2021 and Shadow Minister for Local Government from 2021 to 2022.
Jennifer Chapman,Baroness Chapman of Darlington is a British politician serving as a Member of the House of Lords since 2021. A member of the Labour Party,she served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Darlington from 2010 to 2019.
Alexander Cunningham is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Stockton North since 2010. A member of the Labour Party,he has been Shadow Minister for Courts and Sentencing since 2020.
Roy Francis Kennedy,Baron Kennedy of Southwark,is a British Labour and Co-operative politician and life peer serving as Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords since 2021.
Olivia Frances Blake is a British Labour politician,who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam since 2019.
Andrew Joseph McDonald is a British politician and solicitor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Middlesbrough since 2012. A member of the Labour Party,he sat as an independent MP from October 2023 to March 2024 after being placed under "precautionary suspension" for a period of three months,pending an investigation from the Party whip. McDonald had the Labour whip reinstated on 11 March 2024.
Catherine Jane Smith is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lancaster and Fleetwood since 2015. A member of the Labour Party,she was a member of the shadow cabinets led by Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer from 2016 to 2021 as Shadow Secretary of State,previously Shadow Minister,for Young People and Democracy.
Louise Margaret Haigh is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport since 2021. A member of the Labour Party,she was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Heeley at the 2015 general election,as the youngest Labour member of that parliament. She served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2020 to 2021.
Gillian Furniss is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough since 2016. A member of the Labour Party,she was a Member of Sheffield City Council from 1999 to 2016.
Christopher Philip James Elmore is a Welsh Labour Party politician. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Ogmore since 2016.
Eleanor Claire Reeves is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham West and Penge since 2017. A member of the Labour Party,she has served as Labour Party Deputy National Campaign Coordinator since 2023. She previously served as Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales from April 2020 to December 2021 and Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation from 2021 to 2023.
Daniel Joseph Carden is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Walton since 2017. He was reelected in 2019.
Darren Paul Jones is a British politician serving as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury since 2023. A member of the Labour Party,he previously chaired the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee from 2020 to 2023. Jones has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol North West since 2017.
Sarah Ann Jones is a British Labour Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Croydon Central since the 2017 general election. She currently serves as Shadow Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation as part of Labour's Shadow Department for Business and Trade team. Until September 2023,Jones was the Shadow Minister for Policing and the Fire Service.
Keir Starmer became Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom after being elected as Leader of the Labour Party on 4 April 2020. He appointed his Shadow Cabinet on 5 and 6 April. Starmer has reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet five times:in June 2020,May 2021,June 2021,November 2021 and September 2023.
Keir Starmer,Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom,carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet on 9 May 2021. This followed disappointing results for the Labour Party,including historic defeat in the Hartlepool by-election and the loss of hundreds of councillors in local elections across England.