Timeline: Hazel Blears
Key events in the political career of Hazel Blears, who has resigned as the communities secretary
- guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 3 June 2009 11.43 BST
Hazel Blears, pictured arriving for a cabinet meeting at No 10 Downing Street. Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP
Hazel Blears is to quit the cabinet as communities secretary, yet another casualty of the row over MPs' expenses.
Her demise comes just a month after she was briefly talked about as a possible leadership challenger when she criticised Gordon Brown in an Observer article.
May 1997: Blears enters parliament as the MP for Salford, her home town. Formerly known for her staunch leftwing views, she soon gains a reputation as a fierce Blairite.
June 2001: After Labour's second election win, Blears is made a junior health minister. Two years later, she moves to the Home Office, and in 2006 she enters the cabinet as Labour chair.
June 2007: Blears finishes a disappointing sixth in the election for Labour deputy leader, but is rewarded with the communities secretary post.
2009
May 3: In an Observer article, Blears criticises the government over policy – notably the decision to not allow Gurkha veterans to settle in the UK – and also "lamentable" communication failures.
She even takes a direct hit at Brown over his much-mocked ventures onto the internet, writing: "YouTube if you want to. But it is no substitute for knocking on doors or setting up a stall in the town centre."
May 4: Blears attempts to clarify her comments, saying her criticisms were of the entire government and that Brown has her "100% support".
May 5: The prime minister's spokesman says he still has full confidence in Blears despite the article.
May 8: Blears is included in one of the first instalments of Telegraph stories on MPs' expenses claims.
Leaked receipts show she made claims on three "second home" properties in one year – a house in Salford and two flats in London, as well as a luxury hotel as she moved between the flats. She also spent £5,000 on furniture after buying the second flat.
May 9: Blears insists she did nothing wrong by failing to pay capital gains tax on the flat she sold, in Kennington, south London, even though it was designated as her second home at the time. Brown says he is satisfied with this.
May 12: Blears says she will, after all, pay £13,332 in capital gains tax for the profit she made selling the Kennington home, saying that, while she broke no rules, it was "the right thing to do" given public anger.
She brandishes a cheque for that amount before TV cameras.
May 19: Under repeated questioning at his monthly press conference, Brown says that, while Blears broke no rules, her behaviour was "totally unacceptable".
May 21: In an interview with G2, Blears says this is "my worst time in 30 years of political life", saying she realises people are angry with politicians but insisting she will not resign from the government.
Later in the day, Brown draws a distinction between Blears's actions and those of Geoff Hoon, the transport secretary, and James Purnell, the welfare secretary.
He defends the latter two but argues that Blears's action was different in that she designated the same property as her main residence for tax purposes while also designating it as a second home for parliamentary allowances.
May 25: The Telegraph names Blears among a series of cabinet ministers who allegedly used parliamentary expenses to pay for accountants to help with their tax returns.
June 3: Blears announces her resignation from the cabinet.
- guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
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