James Purnell
433888
223530010
2008-07-04T13:50:04Z
163.1.96.104
{{Infobox Minister
|image=Replace this image male.svg <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people - see [[WP:NONFREE]] --> |
| honorific-prefix = <small>[[The Right Honourable]]</small><br />
| name = James Purnell
| honorific-suffix = [[Member of Parliament|MP]]
| caption =
| title = [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]]
| primeminister = [[Gordon Brown]]
| predecessor = [[Peter Hain]]
| successor =
| term_start = [[24 January]] [[2008]]
| title2 = [[Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport]]
| primeminister2 = [[Gordon Brown]]
| predecessor2 = [[Tessa Jowell]]
| successor2 = [[Andrew Burnham|Andy Burnham]]
| term_start2 = [[28 June]] [[2007]]
| term_end2 = [[24 January]] [[2008]]
| constituency_MP3 = [[Stalybridge and Hyde (UK Parliament constituency)|Stalybridge and Hyde]]
| parliament3 =
| majority3 = 8,348 (24%)
| predecessor3 = [[Tom Pendry, Baron Pendry|Tom Pendry]]
| successor3 = [[Incumbent]]
| term_start3 = [[7 June]] [[2001]]
| term_end3 =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|03|2|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[London]], [[England]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| spouse =
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
| profession =[[Politician]]
| religion =
| signature =
| website =[http://www.jamespurnell.org.uk www.jamespurnell.org.uk]
| footnotes =
}}
'''James Mark Dakin Purnell''' (born [[2 March]] [[1970]], [[London]]) is a [[British people|British]] politician and the current [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]]. He has been the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] [[member of Parliament|MP]] for [[Stalybridge and Hyde (UK Parliament constituency)|Stalybridge and Hyde]] since the [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001 general election]].
==Early life==
He received most of his education in France, returning to study his [[A Levels]] at the [[Royal Grammar School, Guildford|Royal Grammar School]], and going on to gain a [[British undergraduate degree classification|first]] in [[Philosophy, Politics and Economics|PPE]] at [[Balliol College, Oxford|Balliol College]], [[Oxford University|Oxford]].
While still a student he worked in the summer holidays as a researcher to [[Tony Blair]] from 1989 to 1992. After graduating he worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research before moving to the [[BBC]] to become Head of Corporate Planning. In 1997 Purnell returned to work as a special advisor for the former Prime Minister Tony Blair until 2001. He also served as a board member of the [[Young Vic]] theatre.
==Member of Parliament==
Purnell was selected for the seat of Stalybridge and Hyde in 2001, and went on to win the election with a majority of 8,859. As a Labour Member of Parliament, he was a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee in the House of Commons 2001-03, the Chair of the All Party Group on Private Equity and Venture Capital 2002-03, and the Chair of [[Labour Friends of Israel]] 2002-04.<ref>[http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=6694 Letters], ''[[Prospect (magazine)|Prospect]]'', February 2005</ref>
===In government===
In 2003 James became Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to [[Ruth Kelly]] in the Cabinet Office, and in December 2004 he joined the Government as a [[Whip (politics)|Whip]] in the government changes following the resignation of [[David Blunkett]].
Following the Labour [[General Election]] victory in 2005, he was appointed to the position of [[Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State]] for Creative Industries and Tourism in the [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]] where he was in charge of seeing through the legislation that liberalised England and Wales' alcohol licensing laws and modernized film industry tax breaks.
In May 2006 he was promoted to be [[Minister of State]] for Pensions in the [[Department for Work and Pensions]], replacing [[Stephen Timms]].
In 2007 he was named Consumer Champion Of The Year by Which? Magazine for his work on pensions. Which? Magazine cited his "commitment to consumers in the development of the national pensions saving scheme", particularly for listening to stakeholders and for his contributions to the personal accounts for low and middle earners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.which.co.uk/reports_and_campaigns/consumer_rights/reports/Consumer%20rights%20and%20problems/First_which_awards_news_article_557_117068.jsp|title=Which? awards for the best of the best revealed}}</ref>
In June 2007, he was promoted to the Cabinet as the [[Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport]], he is the youngest member of the current [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]].
He was appointed as [[Work and Pensions Secretary]] following the resignation of [[Peter Hain]] on [[24 January]] [[2008]].
===Controversies===
In 1996 Purnell was one of three [[London Borough of Islington|Islington]] councillors who were sued for libel by fellow Labour councillor [[Liz Davies]].<ref>[http://www.llb.labournet.org.uk/1996/july/lp5.html Liz libel latest], Labour Left Briefing, July 1996</ref> Davies had previously been selected as the Labour Party prospective parliamentary candidate for [[Leeds North East (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds North East]], but the selection had been vetoed by the party's [[National Executive Committee]]. Part of the evidence to the NEC had centred around Davies' willingness to abide by the Labour Whip in Parliament, with reference to her time as a member of the Labour group in Islington. Liz Davies claimed that, in their evidence before the NEC, the three councillors had claimed she incited violence during a committee meeting. This led to an out-of-court settlement, under which the three apologised for the allegations they had made and made contributions to the general election campaign of the local MP, [[Jeremy Corbyn]].
Paul Diggett, one of James Purnell's political researchers was convicted in January 2004 of downloading child pornography from Purnell's PC, without the MP's knowledge. Diggett was Labour's candidate for [[Cheadle (UK Parliament constituency)|Cheadle]] in [[United Kingdom general election, 1997|1997]], and was suspended from the party following his arrest.<ref>[http://www.stockportexpress.co.uk/news/s/311/311427_paedo_shame_of_exlabour_politician.html Paedo shame of ex-Labour politician]</ref>
In May 2006, Purnell auctioned off a signed copy of the [[Hutton Inquiry|Hutton Report]] signed by [[Alastair Campbell]]. [[Stewart Jackson]], a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] MP complained over the insensitive nature of how the report was auctioned to raise funds for the Labour Party.
In January 2007, it was reported by the [[Daily Mail]] that James Purnell was given an "easy ride" in an interview with Jeremy Paxman on BBC's [[Newsnight]] because he was having a relationship with one of the producers, Thea Rogers. The BBC found no wrongdoing, while Purnell has also denied inappropriately using his government car. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epolitix.com/latestnews/article-detail/newsarticle/bbcnbspclears-ministers-interview/|title=Your guide to the James Purnell fake photo non-scandal|publisher=[[BBC NEWS]]}}</ref>
In September 2007, a photograph of James Purnell was faked and released by the press office at Tameside General hospital as part of a press release for the Tameside Hospital [[Private Finance Initiative]] (PFI) rebuilding deal.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7018729.stm NHS trust faked MP visit picture]</ref> The Tameside Trust claimed that Purnell agreed to the amalgamation of the two photographs, <ref>[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/media/story/0,,2167600,00.html Purnell 'optimistic' on TV's future]</ref> as he was late for the original [[photo call]], but Purnell denied this. Another Labour MP, [[Tom Levitt]], present for the photoshoot stated that he and other Labour MPs deliberately left a gap for Purnell when the original photograph was taken, knowing that Purnell's image would be superimposed onto their photograph. <ref>{{cite news | first = Chris | last = Hastings | coauthors = Laura Donnelly | title = Labour MPs admit plan to fake Purnell photo | url = http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/30/ntory1330.xml | work = column | publisher = The Daily Telegraph | date = 2007-10-01 | accessdate = 2007-10-02 | quote = James Purnell, the Culture Secretary, came under increasing pressure over a fake photo last night, after two Labour MPs revealed they planned in advance for it be altered. }}</ref> Critics described the photograph as being "misleading"; it was especially damaging as it came at a time when Purnell has criticised the media for misleading the public over telephone phone-in scams and over news stories that were not true.
Prior to becoming a cabinet minister, Purnell has repeatedly been one of the most expensive MPs in the United Kingdom and being confirmed as the most expensive in Greater Manchester, with expenses in 2004 of more than £120,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/85/85231_mps_defend_120k_expenses.html|title=MPs defend £120k expenses}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.jamespurnell.org.uk/ Official site]
*[http://www.dwp.gov.uk/pensionsreform/weblog/ Department for Work and Pensions - James Purnell's Pensions Reform blog]
*[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/interviews/story/0,11660,1490315,00.html The Guardian: Purnell's progress]
*[http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-7096,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: James Purnell MP]
*[http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/james_purnell/stalybridge_and_hyde TheyWorkForYou.com - James Purnell MP]
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{{{s-par|uk}}
{{incumbent succession box
| title = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Stalybridge and Hyde (UK Parliament constituency)|Stalybridge and Hyde]]
| start = [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001]]
| before = [[Tom Pendry, Baron Pendry|Tom Pendry]]
}}
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{{succession box
| title = [[Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport]]
| years = 2007-2008
| before = [[Tessa Jowell]]
| after = [[Andrew Burnham|Andy Burnham]]
}}
{{incumbent succession box
| title = [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]]
| start = 2008
| before = [[Peter Hain]]
| after = Incumbent
}}
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{{Brown Cabinet}}
{{Secretary of State for Culture}}
{{Secretary of State for Work and Pensions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purnell, James}}
[[Category:Government ministers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Labour MPs (UK)]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2001-2005]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005-]]
[[Category:Members of the United Kingdom Parliament for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Government in Tameside]]
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford]]
[[Category:British special advisers]]
[[Category:PPE graduates]]
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