Chair of the Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union[a]
In office 19 October 2016 – 16 January 2021
Preceded by
Office established
Succeeded by
Office abolished
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
Preceded by
David Miliband
Succeeded by
Caroline Spelman
Secretary of State for International Development
In office 6 October 2003 – 28 June 2007
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Preceded by
The Baroness Amos
Succeeded by
Douglas Alexander
Shadow Cabinet portfolios
Shadow Foreign Secretary
In office 11 May 2015 – 26 June 2016
Leader
Harriet Harman (Acting) Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by
Douglas Alexander
Succeeded by
Emily Thornberry
Shadow First Secretary of State
Acting 11 May 2015 – 13 September 2015
Leader
Harriet Harman (Acting)
Preceded by
Harriet Harman (Shadow Deputy Prime Minister)
Succeeded by
Angela Eagle
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
In office 7 October 2011 – 11 May 2015
Leader
Ed Miliband
Preceded by
Caroline Flint
Succeeded by
Emma Reynolds
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In office 8 October 2010 – 7 October 2011
Leader
Ed Miliband
Preceded by
Rosie Winterton
Succeeded by
Angela Eagle
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In office 11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010
Leader
Harriet Harman (Acting) Ed Miliband
Preceded by
Nick Herbert
Succeeded by
Mary Creagh
Junior ministerial offices
Minister of State for International Development
In office 13 May 2003 – 6 October 2003
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Preceded by
Sally Keeble
Succeeded by
Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Probations
In office 29 May 2002 – 13 May 2003
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Preceded by
Keith Bradley
Succeeded by
Fiona Mactaggart
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development
In office 11 June 2001 – 28 May 2002
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Preceded by
Chris Mullin
Succeeded by
Sally Keeble
Member of Parliament for Leeds Central
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 June 1999
Preceded by
Derek Fatchett
Majority
19,270 (39.1%)
Personal details
Born
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn
(1953-11-26) 26 November 1953 (age 70) Hammersmith, London, England
Political party
Labour
Spouses
Rosalind Retey
(m. 1973; died 1979)
Sally Clark
(m. 1982)
Children
4
Parents
Tony Benn
Caroline DeCamp
Relatives
Stephen Benn, 3rd Viscount Stansgate (brother)
Melissa Benn (sister)
Emily Benn (niece)
Alma mater
University of Sussex
Signature
Website
hilarybennmp.com
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn[b] (born 26 November 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2023.[1][2] A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since the 1999 by-election. Benn previously served as Environment Secretary and Development Secretary and as Chairman of the Brexit Select Committee.
Born in Hammersmith, he is the second son of veteran Labour MP Tony Benn and educationalist Caroline Benn. He studied Russian and Eastern European Studies at the University of Sussex and went on to work as a policy researcher for two trade unions, ASTMS and MSF. Benn was elected as a councillor on Ealing Borough Council in 1979 and was Deputy Leader of the Council from 1986 to 1990. He was also the unsuccessful Labour parliamentary candidate for the Ealing North constituency at both the 1983 and 1987 general elections. Following the 1997 general election, Benn was appointed as a special adviser to David Blunkett before winning a by-election in Leeds Central in 1999.
Benn served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development from 2001 to 2002 and for Prisons and Probations from 2002 to 2003. He returned to DFID as Minister of State in May 2003. In October 2003, he was appointed to Tony Blair's Cabinet as the Secretary of State for International Development. In 2007, Benn was a candidate for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, which he lost to Harriet Harman, finishing in fourth place. Benn later served under Gordon Brown as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2007 to 2010.
Following Labour's defeat at the 2010 general election, Benn served in Ed Miliband's Shadow cabinet as Shadow Environment Secretary in 2010 and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from 2010 to 2011. He then served as Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2011 to 2015. Following the 2015 general election, Benn was appointed as Shadow Foreign Secretary, retaining this role after Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour Leader. After criticising Corbyn's leadership and phoning other Labour MPs to seek to remove Corbyn as leader, he was dismissed from this position by Corbyn on 26 June 2016, precipitating a number of shadow cabinet resignations.
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^"Labour reshuffle live: Angela Rayner gets new role as Keir Starmer reshuffles team". BBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland...
Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as The 2nd Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party politician...
uncle HilaryBenn, grandfather Tony Benn, great-grandfather William Wedgwood Benn and great-great-grandfathers, Sir John Benn and Daniel Holmes. Benn attended...
would reshuffle his Shadow Cabinet to remove HilaryBenn, but Corbyn's January reshuffle retained Benn in the same position. The reshuffle prompted the...
Melissa Benn was born in Hammersmith, London to politician Tony Benn and writer-educationalist Caroline Benn. She has three brothers, Joshua Benn, Hilary Benn...
Bob Ainsworth Douglas Alexander Baroness Ashton of Upholland Ed Balls HilaryBenn Hazel Blears Ben Bradshaw Des Browne Liam Byrne Andy Burnham Yvette Cooper...
September, as did Business Secretary John Hutton, Environment Secretary HilaryBenn, and Chief Whip Geoff Hoon. On 4 June 2009 James Purnell resigned from...
of Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative); Leeds Central (HilaryBenn, Labour); Leeds East (Richard Burgon, Labour); Leeds North East (Fabian...
a special conference convened if such an alteration was to be made. HilaryBenn — 47 nominations. Hazel Blears — 49 nominations. Jon Cruddas — 49 nominations...
Wyman Blair Ministry Andrew Adonis Tim Allan Jonathan Ashworth Ed Balls HilaryBenn David Bennett Tom Bentley Andy Burnham Alastair Campbell Matt Cavanagh...
granddaughter of Tony Benn Sir Ernest Benn, 2nd Baronet (1875–1954), British publisher Gottfried Benn (1886–1956), German poet HilaryBenn (born 1953), British...
Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Margaret Beckett Succeeded by HilaryBenn Minister of State for Communities and Local Government In office 11 May...
Bob Ainsworth Douglas Alexander Baroness Ashton of Upholland Ed Balls HilaryBenn Hazel Blears Ben Bradshaw Des Browne Liam Byrne Andy Burnham Yvette Cooper...
office 28 June 2007 – 11 May 2010 Prime Minister Gordon Brown Preceded by HilaryBenn Succeeded by Andrew Mitchell Secretary of State for Scotland In office...
would reshuffle his Shadow Cabinet to remove HilaryBenn, but Corbyn's January reshuffle retained Benn in the same position. The reshuffle prompted the...
Bob Ainsworth Douglas Alexander Baroness Ashton of Upholland Ed Balls HilaryBenn Hazel Blears Ben Bradshaw Des Browne Liam Byrne Andy Burnham Yvette Cooper...
Bob Ainsworth Douglas Alexander Baroness Ashton of Upholland Ed Balls HilaryBenn Hazel Blears Ben Bradshaw Des Browne Liam Byrne Andy Burnham Yvette Cooper...
After completing his O-levels, he worked as an intern to family friend Tony Benn, the MP for Chesterfield. In 1989, Miliband gained four A Levels—in Mathematics...
and was replaced in that brief by HilaryBenn, then International Development Secretary. Douglas Alexander filled Benn's seat whilst his posts as Transport...
Shadow cabinet members Douglas Alexander Ed Balls Lord Bassam of Brighton HilaryBenn Andy Burnham Liam Byrne Vernon Coaker Yvette Cooper Mary Creagh Margaret...
v t e Labour Party MPs in Yorkshire and the Humber HilaryBenn Clive Betts Olivia Blake Paul Blomfield Richard Burgon Sarah Champion Yvette Cooper Judith...
Wyman Blair Ministry Andrew Adonis Tim Allan Jonathan Ashworth Ed Balls HilaryBenn David Bennett Tom Bentley Andy Burnham Alastair Campbell Matt Cavanagh...
leading role in the reshuffle. It included the promotion of Blairites HilaryBenn and Pat McFadden who served under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Lisa Nandy...
Party. The first shadow minister to depart the Opposition frontbench was HilaryBenn, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, on 26 June. Over the course of the day...