John Matthew Patrick Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness, (born 6 May 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for
Barrow and Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
from
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
to
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and served in a number of
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
offices, including
Defence Secretary
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
and
Business Secretary
The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a mem ...
. He is a former Chairman of the
Royal United Services Institute
The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi), registered as Royal United Service Institute for Defence and Security Studies and formerly the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, is a British defence and security think tank. ...
.
Early life
Hutton was born 6 May 1955, in London, though his family moved to
Westcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea (often abbreviated to Westcliff) is an inner city area of the city of Southend-on-Sea, in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is on the north shore of the lower Thames Estuary, about 34 m ...
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', 22 July 2007 He was educated at
Westcliff High School for Boys
Westcliff High School for Boys (WHSB) is an 11–18 selective academy grammar school for boys in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England. In September 2001 the school was awarded ‘Beacon’ status for its breadth of achievements and quality of work. T ...
and
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, where he joined the Conservative, Liberal and Labour Associations and gained a BA in 1976 and a BCL 1978. He worked for a year as a bus driver. For two years he was a legal adviser to the CBI. From 1980–81, he was a research associate for Templeton College, Oxford. He went on to become a senior law lecturer at the
Newcastle Polytechnic
, mottoeng = A lifetime of learning
, established = 1877 - Rutherford College of Technology1969 - Newcastle Polytechnic1992 - gained university status
, type = Public
, budget = Â ...
from 1981–92 before turning back to politics.
Parliamentary career
Hutton first stood for election in the Penrith and the Borders seat in 1987. Two years later, he also failed to be elected as a
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
(MEP) for the Cumbria and North
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
region. His election to the Barrow and Furness seat in the 1992 general election saw him replace
Cecil Franks
Cecil Simon Franks (1 July 1935 – 2 February 2014) was a British solicitor and politician from Manchester. He was the Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness from the 1983 General Election until the 1992 General Election.
Franks was ...
as MP with a majority of 3,578. His majority increased to 14,497 in the Labour landslide of the 1997 Election.
After being a part of the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
from 1998, he was made a member of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 2001. In the reshuffle following the 2005 general election (in which his majority fell to just over 6,000), he was made
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...
and Minister for the Cabinet Office, replacing his close friend and former flatmate,
Alan Milburn
Alan Milburn (born 27 January 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Darlington from 1992 to 2010. He served for five years in the Cabinet, first as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1998 to 1999, a ...
.
His position in this role was short lived, however. Following the second resignation of
David Blunkett
David Blunkett, Baron Blunkett, (born 6 June 1947) is a British Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2015, and previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough ...
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 ...
's closest supporters but survived in cabinet following Blair's resignation in June 2007 and was moved by new Prime Minister Gordon Brown to be Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which incorporated the bulk of portfolios from the now dissolved Department of Trade and Industry, including Energy security issues which many had expected to be ceded to
DEFRA DEFRA may refer to:
* Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, United States law
* Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, United Kingdom government department
{{Disambiguation ...
.
In September 2006, while discussing the forthcoming Labour Party leadership election, Hutton gave an anonymous quote to BBC journalist
Nick Robinson Nicholas, Nicky or Nick Robinson may refer to:
* Nick Robinson (journalist) (born 1963), British political journalist
* Nick Robinson (paperfolder) (born 1957), British origami artist
* Nicky Robinson (rugby union) (born 1982), Welsh rugby player ...
that
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 (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
would be a "fucking disaster" as prime minister.
He was moved into the role of Secretary of State for Defence in the cabinet reshuffle on 3 October 2008. On 5 June 2009, Hutton resigned his Cabinet position and announced his intention to stand down as an MP at the next general election.
Hutton gave evidence to the
Iraq Inquiry
The Iraq Inquiry (also referred to as the Chilcot Inquiry after its chairman, Sir John Chilcot)Des Browne.
House of Lords
On 27 June 2010, he was created 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 ...
as Baron Hutton of Furness, ''of
Aldingham
Aldingham is a village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is situated on the east coast of the Furness peninsula, facing into Morecambe Bay, and is about east of Barrow-in-Furne ...
in the County of
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
on 1 July 2010, where he sits on the Labour benches.
Later career
In June 2010, it was announced that Hutton had joined the board of US nuclear power company
Hyperion Power Generation
Gen4 Energy, Inc (formerly Hyperion Power Generation, Inc.Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was set up in 1975 to provide advice on applications from the most senior Crown servants who wish to take up outside appointments ...
stipulated that he should not lobby his former department for 12 months.
It was also announced in June 2010, that the Conservative – Lib Dem coalition had asked him to head a commission into public sector pensions. His initial report was published in October 2010. The final report was published in March 2011. On 19 June 2011, Hutton rejected claims by trade unionists and Labour colleagues that he had been used as a 'stooge' by the government and dismissed speculation regarding his motives for accepting the coalition's invitation.
Hutton became Chairman of the Nuclear Industry Association in June 2011.
Personal life
John Hutton married Rosemary Caroline Little in 1978 in
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. They had three sons, Jack, George, and Edward, author of the NHS's 'Urgent Care: Case For Change' project, as well as a daughter, Freya, before divorcing in 1993. John has multiple grandchildren from his sons Jack and Edward, and his daughter, Freya. He married civil servant Heather Rogers in 2004.
He is a member of Cemetery Cottages Working Men's Club, Barrow.
Publications
In 2008 John Hutton's first book was published, a non-fiction book with the title '' Kitchener's Men – The King's Own Royal Lancasters on the Western Front 1915–18''. In it, Hutton gives a "graphic insight into the daily routine and grim reality of warfare on the Western Front for men who were mostly recruited from the
Furness
Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire.
The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...
area of the North-West. This was followed in 2010 by 'August 1914, Surrender at St. Quentin'.
He has also co-authored the book 'How to be a minister – a 21st-century guide' with Sir Leigh Lewis. It was published in September 2014.