Dawn Primarolo, Baroness Primarolo, (born 2 May 1954) is a

British Labour Party The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all ...

politician who was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members ofte ...

for Bristol South from

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

until

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, when she stood down. She was

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ot ...

for Children, Young People and Families at the

Department for Children, Schools and Families Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) was a department of the UK government, between 2007 and 2010, responsible for issues affecting people in England up to the age of 19, including child protection and education. DCSF was repla ...

from June 2009 to May 2010 and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons from 2010 to 2015. She was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

for political service. She was nominated for a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...

age in the 2015 Dissolution Honours.

Early life and career

Born in London, Primarolo was raised in

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a p ...

, West Sussex, where she attended Thomas Bennett comprehensive school. She then studied at Bristol Polytechnic as a bookkeeper and

legal secretary A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession. Background In the practice of law in the United States, a legal secretary is a person who works in the legal profession, typically assisting lawyers. Legal secreta ...

. Returning to London, in 1973 she joined the Labour Party whilst employed as a legal secretary in an east London Law Centre. After marrying, she moved back to Bristol to raise her son. She then studied for a social science degree at Bristol Polytechnic, where she gained a BA (Hons). Whilst working, she then continued her studies at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

, where she registered for a PhD research into women and housing. She did not finish the PhD, but was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university in 2016. Becoming involved in her local community, Primarolo belonged to various women's groups and was active in the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...

, a founder member of Windmill Hill

City Farm Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. It encompasses a complex and diverse mix of food production activities, including fisheries and fo ...

, and a

school governor In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions: *Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction *Holding the headteacher to account for the ...

. Active in her local Labour Party, in 1985 she was elected to

Avon County Council Avon County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Avon in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 1 April 1996 at the same time as the county. The county council was based at Av ...

, where she acted as vice chair of the

Equal Opportunities Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...

Committee.

Parliamentary career

Primarolo was first elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

at the 1987 general election, after the constituency party de-selected

Michael Cocks Michael Francis Lovell Cocks, Baron Cocks of Hartcliffe, PC (19 August 1929 – 26 March 2001) was a British Labour Party politician. He was the member of parliament for Bristol South from 1970 to 1987, and was the Labour Party's chief whip ...

, the sitting MP. She gained attention in 1989 by asking Margaret Thatcher if the only hope for low-paid women was "to follow her example and find herself a wealthy husband". She was reading out a question on behalf of Ann Clwyd, at the time, who had "lost her voice". Thatcher dismissed the question as 'cheap'. She served as opposition spokesperson for health from 1992 to 1994 and the Treasury from 1994 to 1997. At the time she was first elected, Primarolo was considered to be on the hard left, but later became a

New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...

loyalist, leading

Andrew Roth Andrew Roth (23 April 1919 – 12 August 2010) was a biographer and journalist known for his compilation of ''Parliamentary Profiles'', a directory of biographies of British Members of Parliament, a small sample of which is available online in ...

of ''The Guardian'' to say she has "changed from 'Red Dawn' to 'Rosy Pink'"; As part of this change, she shifted from support for the

(CND), the rise of which originally led her into politics, to voting for the renewal of Britain's

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other marine ...

nuclear deterrent. Despite campaigning against the first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

in 1991, she voted in favour of the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

in 2003, and against any investigation into the invasion after it had taken place. On other 'key issues' (as described by

TheyWorkForYou TheyWorkForYou is a parliamentary monitoring website operated by mySociety which aims to make it easier for UK citizens to understand what is going on in Westminster, as well as the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assem ...

), she has voted in favour of

ID cards An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID card, citizen ca ...

and increased university tuition fees. Primarolo served as

Financial Secretary to the Treasury The financial secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. It is nominally the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the First Lord of the Treasury, first lord of th ...

from 1997 to 1999 and as

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP. History The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...

from 1999 to 2007. As Paymaster General, Primarolo was responsible for the administration of the

working tax credit Working Tax Credit (WTC) is a state benefit in the United Kingdom made to people who work and have a low income. It was introduced in April 2003 and is a means-tested benefit. Despite their name, tax credits are not to be confused with tax cre ...

system, which was a system that contributed to raising millions of children out of poverty. However, the administration of this system received some criticism, including allegations that some families were left less well off as a result. In 2003, a Treasury select committee member accused her of "losing control of erdepartment" after it became known that

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

buildings under Primarolo's purview had been sold to tax-haven companies. This came shortly after she had "insisted ... the

Child tax credit A child tax credit (CTC) is a tax credit for parents with dependent children given by various countries. The credit is often linked to the number of dependent children a taxpayer has and sometimes the taxpayer's income level. For example, in t ...

scheme was a 'success'", despite Inland Revenue staff walking out in protest against the pressure under which they were placed. She was also responsible for introducing the controversial

IR35 IR35 refers to the United Kingdom's anti-avoidance tax legislation, the intermediaries legislation contained in Chapter 8 of Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. The legislation is designed to tax 'disguised' employment at a rate similar ...

tax rules which were designed to tax "disguised employment" at a rate similar to employment. The measure was controversial as it was seen by some as unfair. Primarolo was also the longest serving Paymaster General in the office's 200-year history. Primarolo was named Chairman of the Code of Conduct Group upon its establishment by

ECOFIN The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) is one of the oldest configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the economics and finance ministers of the 27 European Union member states, as well as Budget Minist ...

in March 1998. In 2005, PM

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

was forced to apologise after a report by the

Parliamentary Ombudsman Parliamentary Ombudsman ( fi, Eduskunnan oikeusasiamies, sv, Riksdagens ombudsman, is, Umboðsmaður Alþingis, da, Folketingets Ombudsmand, no, Sivilombudet) is the name of the principal ombudsman institutions in Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norw ...

that Primarolo had failed to give

accurate information. Primarolo admitted at the same time that she had been fully aware "about the extent of the problems". As Minister of State for Public Health from 2007 to 2009, Primarolo was responsible for health improvement and health protection issues including such areas as tobacco, obesity, drugs and sexual health, as well as international business, pharmacy and research and development. On 5 June 2009 Primarolo was moved, this time succeeding

Beverley Hughes Beverley June Hughes, Baroness Hughes of Stretford (born 30 March 1950) is a British politician serving as Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, Hughes was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford an ...

as Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families at the

. This gave her the right to attend cabinet when her responsibilities were on the agenda. Primarolo's abilities as a minister have been questioned, with former Prime Minister Tony Blair revealing in his autobiography ''

A Journey ''A Journey'' is a memoir by Tony Blair of his tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Published in the UK on 1 September 2010, it covers events from when he became leader of the Labour Party in 1994 and transformed it into "New Labou ...

'' that he did not think she was "right for government" but had to give her a job because she was one of

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

's key allies; and political commentator Danny Finkelstein arguing that she was "contender no. 1" for title of "Labour's worst Minister". Jonathan Powell, Blair's Chief of Staff, is reported as saying "We fired Dawn Primarolo about ten times. And each time Gordon (Brown) insisted we put her back."

Deputy Speaker

Primarolo joined the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Children when Labour entered opposition in May 2010. In June 2010 she became a Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. In November 2011 she announced her intention to stand down from Parliament at the next general election. Primarolo was created a

taking the title Baroness Primarolo, of Windmill Hill in the City of Bristol on 26 October 2015.

2022 Infected Blood Inquiry

In July 2022 Primarolo provided written evidence to the

Infected Blood Inquiry In the 1970s and 1980s, a large number of people – most of whom had haemophilia – were infected with hepatitis C and HIV, the virus that leads to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), as a result of receiving contaminated clotting fa ...

. In September 2022 she provided spoken evidence.

Personal life

Primarolo married

UNISON In music, unison is two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves, usually at the same time. ''Rhythmic unison'' is another term for homorhythm. Definition Unison or pe ...

regional secretary Ian Ducat in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1990.

References

External links

Bristol South Labour Party
*
The Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP
Department of Health (archived) , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Primarolo, Dawn 1954 births 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians Alumni of the University of Bristol Alumni of the University of the West of England, Bristol Councillors in South West England Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Speakers of the British House of Commons English people of Italian descent Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) life peers Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Living people Members of Parliament for Bristol Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers for children, young people and families People from Crawley Politics of Bristol UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs who were granted peerages United Kingdom Paymasters General Women councillors in England Women government ministers in the United Kingdom Women legislative deputy speakers