24 Facts About Hazel Blears

Hazel Anne Blears was born on 14 May 1956 and is a British former Labour Party politician, who served as the Member of Parliament successively for the constituencies of Salford and Salford and Eccles between 1997 and 2015.

One of 101 female Labour MPs elected at the 1997 general election, Blears served in the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio and Chair of the Labour Party between 2006 and 2007, and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2007 to 2009, before resigning as a result of the expenses scandal.

Hazel Blears was re-elected in 2010 and remained a backbencher, before standing down at the 2015 election.

Hazel Blears went to Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham, graduating with a BA degree in law, and later, the Chester College of Law in 1977.

Hazel Blears spent ten months in 1999 as PPS to then Chief Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Smith.

At the 2010 general election, parliamentary constituencies for Salford and Eccles were restructured, with Hazel Blears's constituency being abolished.

Hazel Blears defeated Ian Stewart in the selection contest to be the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for the new parliamentary constituency of Salford and Eccles, and was elected.

Hazel Blears was promoted in 2003 to Minister of State for Policing, Security and Community Safety.

Hazel Blears was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in 2003.

In May 2008, Hazel Blears mistakenly commented on BBC's Question Time that there were 3 million people unemployed in the United Kingdom when Labour came to power in 1997.

On 3 June 2009, the day before the 2009 European and local elections, Hazel Blears announced she would resign from the cabinet at the next reshuffle.

In March 2005, while Home Office minister with responsibility for counter-terrorism, Hazel Blears implied that section 44 of the Terrorism Act would disproportionally affect Muslims.

In 2006, Hazel Blears joined in protests against the closure of hospital departments in her constituency, even though these closures were consistent with the policies of the government of which she was a senior member.

In May 2009, The Telegraph reported that Hazel Blears had claimed the maximum allowable expenses, within one pound, for three properties, as well as for stays in hotels.

Further, Hazel Blears had not paid capital gains tax on profit from the sale of a London flat.

The property was registered as her main residence with HM Revenue and Customs, but Hazel Blears had been claiming MPs' second home expenses relating to the flat.

Hazel Blears was a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from September 2010 to March 2015.

Hazel Blears presented the committee's report on privacy and security, carried out following Edward Snowden's revelations about global surveillance by the security agencies, to the media.

In 2013, Hazel Blears launched the Kids without Connections work experience programme.

Hazel Blears stood down at the 2015 general election, as she had announced.

In 2016 Hazel Blears was appointed Chair of the Social Investment Business.

Hazel Blears has had roles as Chair of the Institute for Dementia at the University of Salford, as an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society, and as a trustee of the Social Mobility Foundation.

In September 2020, Hazel Blears was appointed as "Social Value Specialist" for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

In 2005 Hazel Blears was a member of a parliamentary tap-dancing troupe known as the Division Belles.