The Labour MP for Exeter is Ben Bradshaw.
When he was selected to contest Exeter at the 1997 General Election, Ben was the first openly-gay Labour candidate. Despite a bitterly homophobic Conservative campaign, Ben was returned to Parliament with a majority of 11, 705.
He introduced the Pesticides Act in 1998, which gave more powers to inspectors, and joined the government payroll when he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Denhman, then a Health Minister, in 2000.
After holding his seat at the 2001 General Election, Ben was promoted to Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and answered Parliamentary questions on the terrorist attacks of September 11 only days later. In the May 2002 reshuffle, Ben was moved to become Deputy to the late Robin Cook, who was Leader of the House of Commons and he has been a Minister at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since 2003.
Before entering politics, Ben was an acclaimed journalist. After starting his career in the media at our very own Express & Echo, Ben joined BBC Devon and was appointed as the BBC’s Berlin Correspondent in 1989. He was commended for his coverage of the collapse of Communism and returned to Britain in 1991 as a reporter for The World At One. Ben won the Sony News Reporter Award in 1993.
Away from the hustle and bustle of Westminster, Ben enjoys cycling and walking and relaxing with his partner. He lives with his partner Neal Dalgleish, who is a BBC producer, and was the first MP to enter in a civil partnership.
For more information about Ben, please feel free to visit his website.
Constituents can write to Ben via his Parliamentary Office:
Ben Bradshaw MP
House of Commons
Westminster
London
SW1 0AA
You can call Ben’s parliamentary office on 0207 219 6597 or send a fax to 0207 219 0950.
